Joaquin Phoenix Drowns in New PETA Video

Joaquin Phoenix, who has garnered critical acclaim and an Academy Award Best Actor nomination for his role in the 2012 film, The Master, put his acting skills to good use in a recent commercial for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The video draws a parallel between human drowning and the painful deaths many fish endure by showing Phoenix gasping for air underwater as he narrates, “In water, humans drown just as fish suffocate on land. Its slow and painful and frightening … Put yourself in their place. Try to relate.” PETA attempted to air the video during the Academy Awards but ABC deemed it “too political and controversial,” so it will be shown during Jimmy Kimmel Live after the Oscar ceremony.