Beau Is Afraid actor Armen Nahapetian insists he’s not A.I.

Last Updated on May 2, 2023

Beau may be afraid, but actor Armen Nahapetian is more concerned that you think he is a work of artificial intelligence. The Beau Is Afraid co-star, who plays the teenage version of Joaquin Phoenix’s character, recently updated his Instagram profile bio to read, “I’m not AI”…which most actors generally don’t have to explain.

Yet, Armen Nahapetian has been the subject of just that, facing accusations that he’s actually a digitally created entity and not flesh, bones and DNA, telling Variety that the Instagram update is “half joking, but half being serious…I thought people would eventually realize that, you know, I’m a real boy.” But this hasn’t been the case even after stepping out for the premiere of Beau Is Afraid, as he has continued to face skepticism. “I went to the movie theater a few weeks ago, and one of the employees was pointing at the poster saying, ‘Oh, my God, you’re real!’” So, would they have made him pay for the ticket with NFTs…?

This questioning of Armen Nahapetian’s identity began long before Beau Is Afraid even came out. Once the bizarre posters hit the internet, people immediately began wondering, What is up with the kid on the poster? Certainly there is a juxtaposition there, with Nahapetian appearing sort of…well, artificial, at least compared to the three Joaquin Phoenix versions also depicted. Indeed, many just assumed it was a digitally de-aged Phoenix. It didn’t help, either, that one poster even had an image of Armen Nahapetian with “JOAQUIN PHOENIX” above. In fairness, Nahapetian does look at least a little bit like a young Joaquin Phoenix in the face (see: 1988’s Parenthood).

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Armen Nahapetian’s existence has only added to Beau Is Afraid’s release–after all, it is definitely an epic and trippy movie–with the curiosity translating into respectable box office numbers, with the A24 film taking in $80,000 per screen, which is actually the best average of 2023. So suck on that, computer-generated Mario!

Do you think Armen Nahapetian looks like an A.I. work? Did you think he was a digitally de-aged Joaquin Phoenix? Let us know below!