Though Joaquin Phoenix was once famously saved from a car wreck by wacko auteur Werner Herzog, apparently there's one aspect to the actor still in dangerous need of resuscitation: his love of acting. While attending a Paul Newman charity benefit last night, Phoenix told Extra that he's done, finished, finito with doing films, and he's got one shaky reason why:

The Oscar nominee told "Extra," "I want to take this opportunity... also to give you the exclusive and just talk a little bit about the fact that this will be my last performance as an actor... I'm not doing films anymore." "Extra's" Jerry Penacoli, shocked by the news, further probed Joaquin. "Are you serious?" Phoenix, who was curiously being followed by his own camera crews, reiterated, "Yeah. I'm working on my music. I'm done. I've been through that." Actor Casey Affleck, present during the admission, tells "Extra", "I don't think he's kidding. He's got music and stuff." Today, "Extra" contacted Phoenix's rep for clarification and got this response: "That is what he told me."

Ah, the dreaded lure of the Hollywood vanity band! Actors like Russell Crowe and Keanu Reeves have been cast adrift on the shoals of rock before, so we can only hope Phoenix learns from their mistakes. Hey, Joaquin — don't listen to that impulse telling you to give up acting for a cramped North American tour of small clubs. That voice in your head? It's simply the brain-eating frog, come back to collect! [Photo Credit: AP]