Joaquin Phoenix warns people to 'not take mushrooms' when they watch his new film

Joaquin Phoenix has warned people to 'not take mushrooms' when they watch his new upcoming film.

Phoenix, who plays the leading character of an anxiety-ridden man named Beau in the upcoming Beau is Afraid, has issued a stark - but very specific - warning for his new upcoming release.

The movie is the third feature film of the writer-director Ari Aster, and is due to hit the theatres next month on April 21.

The Joker actor has admitted that the movie is a 'bit weird', which sees Beau travel through his worst fears while confronting his past, present, and future self.

Phoenix, who has just wrapped up filming the sequel of Joker, named Joker: Folie à Deux, revealed a few things about Beau is Afraid in a recent conversation at a theatre in New York City.

The actor also issued a warning that fans most likely didn't expect, with him advising his audience to not consume 'mushrooms' if they want to experience the movie in the best way possible.

He said: “I was told from someone in college that there was this college thread amongst friends, a challenge they were going to take mushrooms and go see this movie.

"And I just wanted to make a public service announcement and say, do not take mushrooms and go see this f**king movie.”

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However, Phoenix immediately joked and said: "But if you do it, film yourself. But don’t do it!"

Phoenix's fans would know him for his incredible acting and his array of films in the last few years where he played a range of characters all with one similarity - being disturbed and broken men.

The common factor in all these films - such as Joker, You Were Never Really Here and The Master - is Phoenix is playing complex male characters who often display unsettling and complicated behavior.

Addressing his take on playing unhinged characters, Phoenix said during his recent conversation: "It's just drama. I mean, you play somebody that's well-adjusted, it's f**king boring.

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He joked. "What do you do? A romantic comedy? I just don't think that could sustain me for what I like to do. I just feel like, yeah… I don't know what genre of music, but you're just like, yeah, I want it hard, f**kin' get it.

"Because it's enjoyable. You know what I mean? I love the complexity of that."

If you're excited to check Aster's new anxiety-inducing scenes for yourself, Beau is Afraid is released in the US on April 21 while movie-goers in the UK can watch it from May 19.