Joaquin Phoenix’s curious behaviour shifted up a gear in the early hours of this morning when he was dragged away by security guards after leaping from a nightclub stage to confront a heckler.

The 34-year-old, who recently announced he had given up acting to become a hip-hop artist, stopped rapping after a man in the audience of the Miami Beach club disturbed him.

"We have a f****** a******* in the audience," Phoenix announced.

“"I've got a million f***** dollars in my f***** bank account. What have you got?" he taunted before jumping from the Miami Beach stage and heading for the man.

The two were face-to-face when security guards caught up with Phoenix, dragging him on to the stage and then escorting him off through the wings.

It is not clear whether any punches were thrown.

One member of the audience, Jorge Lledo, told reporters: "I saw the guy screaming at Joaquin, and Joaquin just came down."

Phoenix, who has been nominated for two Oscars, kept the crowd waiting until 2am before he appeared. Many of his fans had been there since the doors to The Fontainebleau hotel's nightclub, Liv, opened at 10pm.

He walked on stage smoking a cigarette and sporting the dishevelled look that he has favoured since giving up acting.

His brief performance was similar to previous much-ridiculed efforts, consisting of mumbled lyrics and an abundance of head-nodding.

Once feted by critics for his performances in Walk The Line and We Own the Night, Phoenix was lampooned at last month’s Academy Awards for his increasingly shambolic appearances.

In February, he gave a perplexing interview to the David Letterman Show about his last movie, Two Lovers. His one-word answers and confused behaviour prompted the host to openly ridicule him.

But the constant presence of actor Casey Affleck and a film crew has caused fans to question Phoenix’s motives. Some suspect he is filming a mockumentary and that his behaviour is an elaborate hoax for the project.

But Affleck insists he is directing a documentary about Phoenix’s transition from film star to hip-hop artist.

Affleck recorded the Miami nightclub incident.

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