Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (born Joaquin Rafael Bottom; October 28, 1974) is an American actor and the younger brother of deceased young actor River Phoenix. In appearances as a child actor, he was billed as Leaf Phoenix up through the end of the 1980s in emulation of his siblings River and Rain; from To Die For onward, he reverted to Joaquin.
While his older brother was a widely praised up-and-coming actor who ultimately died (via drug overdose) before he could reach his full potential as an actor, Joaquin ultimately avoided such a fate and obtained the sort of successful film career that his brother would have surely had if not for his death.
His most famous roles include Commodus in Gladiator, Merrill Hess in Signs, Jack Daglish in Hotel Rwanda, his critically acclaimed portrayal of Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line and a new take on The Joker in the eponymous film.
In 2008, Phoenix announced that he would be retiring from acting to become a professional musician, mainly in the genre of rap. No one seemed to know if he was serious or pulling an Andy Kaufman. The ordeal was covered in I'm Still Here, a 2010 documentary made by his brother-in-law Casey Affleck, which mainly showed Phoenix acting crazy and didn't help to answer the question. On September 16th of that year, Affleck revealed that the whole thing, going all the way back to Phoenix's switch to a musical career, was a big hoax, and in effect, the most extensive character that Phoenix has put together yet. In 2012, Phoenix made his return to acting in the Paul Thomas Anderson film The Master.
Phoenix is an outspoken vegan and animal rights activist. Among other efforts, he narrated Earthlings, a documentary about animal abuse, and produced Gunda, a wordless Nature Documentary set on a farm. He's also a known environmentalist and ally for queer people and minorities, even criticizing Hollywood for not being inclusive enough.
He's engaged to Rooney Mara. They have a son, who was born in 2020 and named River in homage to Joaquin's brother.
Notable roles:
- SpaceCamp (1986)
- The Adventures of Superboy (1988)
- Parenthood (1989)
- To Die For (1995)
- 8mm (1999)
- Quills (2000)
- Gladiator (2000) — Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
- Buffalo Soldiers (2001)
- Signs (2002)
- Brother Bear (2003) (voice)
- Ladder 49 (2004)
- The Village (2004)
- Hotel Rwanda (2004)
- Walk the Line (2005) — Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
- We Own The Night (2007) (also producer)
- Reservation Road (2007)
- I'm Still Here (2010)
- The Master (2012) — Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor
- her (2013)
- The Immigrant (2013)
- Inherent Vice (2014)
- Irrational Man (2015)
- Mary Magdalene (2018)
- You Were Never Really Here (2018)
- The Sisters Brothers (2018)
- Joker (2019) — Won the Academy Award for Best Actor
- Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)
- C'mon C'mon (2021)
- Beau Is Afraid (2023)
- Napoleon (2023)
Tropes related to his work include:
- Career Resurrection: It was thought that Phoenix had lost his mind following the drugged out Letterman interview, and even when it was revealed to be a hoax for I'm Not Here, many were put off, wondering what would become of his career. After teaming up with Paul Thomas Anderson to make The Master (earning him an Oscar nomination), and then following it up with Spike Jonze's her, many were quick to make a complete reversal in opinion, instead invoked Phoenix as one of the best actors working today, culminating in his Oscar win for Joker.
- Production Posse: With James Gray with whom he did four films. He's also worked multiple times with M Night Shyamalan, Paul Thomas Anderson, Terry George and Ridley Scott.
- Reclusive Artist: Does do interviews occasionally but is otherwise far more content with being practically invisible to the media.
- What Could Have Been: Phoenix got very far into the casting process to play Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He ultimately dropped himself out of contention while his contract was being negotiated because he didn't want to get tied into a multi-film deal. Part of the reasons he accepted to play in Joker (outside of Awesome, Dear Boy) was that he would have to commit to a single movie instead of a multi-picture deal.
