Joaquin Phoenix

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Joaquin Phoenix
Image:Joaquin Phoenix (2005).jpg Phoenix at the 2005 Toronto Film Festival, photo by Tony Shek <tr><td style="text-align:left;">Birth name</td><td>Joaquín Rafael Phoenix</td></tr>
Born	October 28 1974 (age 33) San Juan, Puerto Rico
Height	5ft 8½in
Notable roles	Commodus in Gladiator Merrill Hess in Signs Johnny Cash in Walk the Line

Joaquín Rafael Phoenix (pronounced IPA: [xwa.ˈkin̪ ra.fa.ˈe̞l ˈfiː.nɪks]) (born October 28, 1974 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe Award winning, American actor. As a child he was known as Leaf Phoenix. He was born and raised for a time in Puerto Rico, until his family moved to California, where he began a career as a child actor. He is from a family of performers, most notably his brother, the late actor River Phoenix.

He often plays supporting roles as conflicted, insecure characters with a darker side. He has stated on numerous occasions that he has never watched any of his performances on screen.

1 Biography
2 Selected filmography
3 Notes
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Phoenix's father, John Lee Bottom, came from a Catholic California family, while his mother, Arlyn Sharon Dunetz, was born in the Bronx to Margaret and Meyer Dunetz, Orthodox Jewish <ref name=PRAVDA>http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/363/16489_celebrities.html</ref><ref name=rf>http://www.river-phoenix.org/friends/heart-phoenix/</ref> emigrants from Hungary and Russia. Shortly after they met in the 1960s, the couple joined the Children of God cult and began traveling throughout South America as missionaries. Joaquin Rafael was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and lived there until he was six years old. He was born with a distinct scar on his lip, which is popularly believed to be the result of a repaired cleft lip. However, he has stated in interviews that his mother, while pregnant with him, felt a sharp pain one day and then he was born with the scar, implying that she believes the two events are connected. The birth scar is a microform, almost taking the form of a cleft, as the tissues just reached far enough to join up; since the bone and muscle tissues joined correctly no surgery or cleft repair was required. He is not religiously Jewish, however, he does consider his ethnicity to be Jewish.

After leaving the cult and returning to the states (upon which they adopted the surname "Phoenix"), the family moved to Los Angeles, where his mother started working as a secretary for NBC, and his father became a landscaper. John and Arlyn encouraged their children to develop their creative instincts. His parents hired an agent, who eventually got the five children acting work. Since his siblings all had nature-related names, Joaquin had began going by "Leaf" at age four, inspired by spending time outdoors raking leaves with his dad. This is the name he would use as a child actor.

Joaquin is the third of five children; the others are River (1970 – 1993), Rain or "Rainbow Joan of Arc" (1973), Liberty Butterfly or "Libertad Mariposa" (1976), and Summer or "Summer Joy" (1978).

[edit] Career

Phoenix's first acting jobs were guest appearances on two television shows with his brother River: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982) and Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia (1984).

He made his big-screen debut in Space Camp (1986), playing the role of Max, and his first starring role was in Russkies (1987). He went on to establish himself as a child actor in Parenthood (1989), before deciding to withdraw from acting for a while and move to Mexico with his father.

Phoenix came back into public view under tragic circumstances — he was the person who dialed 9-1-1 when his brother River suffered a fatal drug overdose outside of a Hollywood nightclub, The Viper Room.

He was reluctant to re-enter the world of acting, but he did so at the insistence of his friends. He changed his name from "Leaf" back to "Joaquin."

He portrayed a troubled teen in Gus Van Sant's To Die For, and earned positive reviews for roles as the cruel Roman emperor Commodus in Gladiator (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), a conflicted priest in Quills, a washed-up baseball player in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, and a lovestruck farmer in Shyamalan's The Village.

Upon being cast as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line after Cash himself approved, Phoenix responded by buying a guitar and learning how to play. He spent several years practicing in-character as Johnny Cash before principal photography, including voice and guitar lessons, and mimicking Cash's persona. In 2006, he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, and won a Golden Globe in the same category, for his portrayal. Reese Witherspoon, who portrayed June Carter Cash in the film and won a Best Actress Oscar for her performance, stated during an interview that when they first performed in-character before a live audience, she was so impressed with his impersonation that she knew she "had to step it up a notch." Indeed, all of the vocal tracks in the movie and on the accompanying soundtrack are played and sung by Phoenix and Witherspoon.

On January 26, 2006, a few days after his Golden Globe win for Walk The Line, he and another person were involved in an auto accident due to a brake malfunction in the Hollywood Hills suburb in Los Angeles when his SUV flipped over and skidded onto its side. He suffered no serious injuries, and was pulled from his overturned car by German art film director Werner Herzog, whose home was located nearby. Phoenix appeared at the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards a few days later.

He has also started directing music videos for bands such as Ringside, She Wants Revenge, and People in Planes.

[edit] Personal life

Phoenix is a dedicated vegan and has been since age three.[1] He narrated the film "Earthlings" on behalf of PETA - a video about investigation of animal abuse in factory farms, pet mills, in industry and research. He is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. [2]

Phoenix has been linked with a few women, most notably actress Liv Tyler.

[edit] Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
2007	Reservation Road	Ethan Learner
2007	We Own the Night	Joseph
2006	Earthlings	Narrator	Narrated the film "Earthlings" on behalf of PETA - a video about investigation of factory farming. He is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. [3][4]
2005	Walk The Line	Johnny Cash	Golden Globe win, Oscar nomination
2004	Hotel Rwanda	Jack Daglish
2004	The Village	Lucius Hunt
2004	Ladder 49	Jack Morrison
2003	It's All About Love	John
2003	Brother Bear	Kenai	Voice Only
2002	Signs	Merrill Hess
2001	Buffalo Soldiers	Ray Elwood
2000	Gladiator	Commodus	Oscar nomination
2000	Quills	The Abbe du Coulmier
2000	The Yards	Willie Gutierrez
1998	Return to Paradise	Lewis McBride
1998	Clay Pigeons	Clay Bidwell
1998	8mm	Max California
1997	Inventing the Abbotts	Doug Holt
1997	U-Turn	Toby N. Tucker a.k.a. TNT
1995	To Die For	Jimmy Emmett
1989	Parenthood	Garry Buckman-Lampkin	Under the name Leaf Phoenix
1987	Russkies	Danny
1986	Space Camp	Max