Joaquin Phoenix

Birth name: Joaquin Rafael Phoenix
Date of birth: 28 October 1974
Place of birth: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nickname: Kitten, Joaq
Height: 5′ 8″ (1.73 m)

Famous Quote: “I go into movies thinking, we’re performing, but with interviews, we’re pretending to be completely real. I just can’t get my head around it. And the things we say in this hour could permanently shape our personas. I mean, tell me that’s not a little odd! And because I think that’s odd, people think I’m odd. And that’s strange. Know what I’m saying?”

Contact Address and Autograph: Addresses and fan mail information

Joaquin Phoenix
Endeavor Agency
9601 Wilshire Blvd. 3rd Floor
Beverly Hills, CA 90212, USA 

He is best known for his Oscar-nominated portrayals of Commodus in Gladiator, and Johnny Cash in Walk the Line. He has recently ventured behind the camera, directing music videos as well as producing movies and television shows. He has also recorded an album, the Grammy-winning soundtrack Walk the Line. He has long been a social activist, particularly as an advocate for animal welfare.

Joaquin Phoenix was among the more unconventional A-list Hollywood actors, with an intensity of personal character that was apparent right from his humble breakout in the indie gem, “To Die For” (1995). Phoenix began his acting career as Leaf Phoenix, the brooding brother with the deep-set eyes and scarred lip that contrasted with the blond, teen-friendly face of older brother River Phoenix – a critically acclaimed actor in his own right. 

Following River’s unfortunate early death, the younger Phoenix went on to fulfill the family’s dramatic destiny with powerful performances in “Gladiator” (2000), “Ladder 49” (2004) and his Oscar-winning portrayal of Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line” (2005). Offscreen, Phoenix was active with animal rights and peace organizations and had little patience for the trappings of the movie star life. He was notoriously tight-lipped in mandatory publicity junkets and preferred to retreat to New York or retrace the routes of his nomadic childhood in South America. The entire package made for a compelling, unique spirit both on screen and off.

Phoenix was born Joaquin Rafael Bottom in Río Piedras, located in the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is the third of five children, including the late River (1970 – 1993), Rain (1972), Liberty (1976), and Summer (1978). He also has a half-sister named Jodean (1964), from his father’s first marriage. His father, John Lee Bottom, was a lapsed Catholic from Fontana, California. His mother, Arlyn Phoenix (née Dunetz), was born in the Bronx, New York to Jewish parents from Hungary and Russia. In 1968, Arlyn left her family and moved to California, later meeting Phoenix’s father while hitch-hiking. They married in 1969, then later joined the religious cult, the Children of God. They began traveling throughout South America.

His parents John and Arlyn Bottom were missionaries with the Children of God, who raised their family on the road throughout Central and South America, with their two eldest, River and Rain, playing music and handing out religious pamphlets on the streets for money. In 1977, after several years in Venezuela, the Bottoms decided to quit the cult and River, Rain, Joaquin, and Liberty hopped a freighter to Florida, changing the family name to Phoenix as a symbol of their new beginning. The bohemian home-schooled, vegan clan initially struggled to make ends meet, especially after the addition of sister Summer and health issues that forced dad John to quit his gardening job. Musical duo River and Rain had gotten good responses at local talent contests and the family assumed that their talent would be welcome and probably lucrative in Hollywood. They packed up the station wagon and moved to Los Angeles – the family’s 20th move in 10 years – where they rented an empty school and set up camp. Arlyn got a job as a secretary at NBC and found an agent who agreed that she had a team of unusually creative kids.

His parents eventually became disillusioned with the Children of God; they made the decision to leave the cult and returned to the U.S. in 1978. This was also around the time Joaquin had begun calling himself “Leaf,” desiring to have a similar nature-related name like his siblings (he was inspired by spending time outdoors raking leaves with his dad). This is the name he would use as a child actor; at fifteen, he changed it back to ‘Joaquin’.

In order to provide food and financial support for the family, the Phoenix children performed on the streets and at various talent contests, singing and playing instruments. In Los Angeles his mother started working as a secretary for NBC, and his father worked as a landscaper. His parents hired an agent, Iris Burton, who eventually got the five children acting work.

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, after starring in a Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode: “A very happy ending” the same year, and his first starring role was in Russkies (1987). He went on to establish himself as a child actor in Ron Howard’s Parenthood (1989), before deciding to withdraw from acting for a while and travel to Mexico and South America with his father.

Eldest sibling River landed a regular role on “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (CBS, 1982-83), and Joaquin, who had changed his name to Leaf, scored a guest spot by association. He joined his big brother again in “Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia” (1984), with the pair being honored with Young Actor Awards. In 1986, Phoenix struck out on his own and became a regular on “Morningstar/Eveningstar” (CBS, 1986), a short-lived dramatic series in which the residents of a retirement home take in the residents of an orphanage that has burned down. Phoenix entered features inauspiciously as an adorable moppet who befriends an even cuter robot in “Space Camp” (1986). He offered a wooden rendition of a gung-ho kid who comes upon a beached Soviet sailor in the well-meaning “Russkies” (1987), but with Ron Howard’s “Parenthood” (1989), something clicked. Phoenix was a standout playing the troubled pre-teen son of Dianne Wiest. He was again honored by the Young Actor Awards for his supporting character, whose furrowed brow, intense introversion, and seeming discomfort in his own skin demonstrated Phoenix’s strength for inhabiting sensitive, conflicted men. 

Phoenix came back into public view under tragic circumstances on October 31, 1993, his brother River suffered a fatal drug overdose, outside the famed Hollywood nightclub, The Viper Room. Joaquin’s call to 911 to save his brother was recorded and repeatedly played over the airwaves and on television. The sudden media intrusion into his life proved to be too overwhelming; once again, he retreated from the public eye. A year later, at the insistence of his friends, Joaquin reluctantly re-entered the world of acting.

Following that first triumph, Phoenix did not act for several years. At the age of 15, he took an extended solo trek backpacking through Central America. In 1993, he was involuntarily thrust in the spotlight following the tragic death of his talented brother. Phoenix had been at the Sunset Strip nightclub, the Viper Room, with River the night the 23-year-old actor took a lethal combination of drugs, and it was his voice on the frantic 911 phone call that news shows insisted on playing, despite the flinchingly private nature of the moment. It was a life-changing moment for Phoenix, who was never the same again after losing his older brother. Several years later, Gus Van Sant, who had directed River in “My Own Private Idaho”(1991), recognized Phoenix’s familial intensity and tapped his little brother to co-star in “To Die For” (1995). Phoenix – who, by this time, had changed his name back to Joaquin – was quietly brilliant as a burnout teenager seduced by an ambitious local newswoman (Nicole Kidman) into murdering her career-squelching husband. In 1997, Phoenix co-starred in “Inventing the Abbotts” (1997), a drama about two brothers who discover a secret connection between their family and that of three beautiful sisters. The hot young cast included Liv Tyler – with whom Phoenix began a highly publicized off-screen relationship, though it immediately became clear that he was uncomfortable with publicity, interviews, or any of the peripheral requirements of being a film actor.

Phoenix next played the hot-headed young husband of Claire Danes in Oliver Stone’s comic noir failure, “U-Turn,” before pairing up twice with Vince Vaughn. In “Return to Paradise” (1998), Phoenix earned critical acclaim for playing an American jailed in Malaysia for possession of drugs, while the black comedy “Clay Pigeons” (1998) saw him as a quiet mechanic duped by Vaughn’s smooth-talking, truck-driving serial killer. Continuing his rise, Phoenix played a streetwise punk who helps detective Nicolas Cage in his search for the truth behind what appears to be a snuff film in “8mm” (1999), directed by Joel Schumacher.

The year 2000, however, proved a banner one for the actor – who finally broke through to the A-list. He garnered attention as the slick aide to a corrupt businessman in John Gray’s “The Yards” (2000), before nearly stealing “Gladiator” (2000) from star Russell Crowe with his malevolently operatic take on the young emperor, Commodus. His most high-profile role to date earned him Golden Globe, Oscar, and BAFTA nominations among many others, transforming him into a highly sought-after supporting player. Phoenix, however, was not much interested in Hollywood accolades and glad-handing; instead, continuing to take roles based on their creative challenges. These roles often challenged the cast and crew as well, with Phoenix earning a reputation as an actor who thoroughly became his character over the course of a production. Lastly, Phoenix demonstrated his range by underplaying his next high profile part, the Abbe Coulmier who oversees the Charenton madhouse where the Marquis de Sade has been confined in “Quills” (2000). Skillfully delineating a man of the cloth torn by his duty and his desires, the actor offered a fine performance that was a capper to a prolific year.

In 2002, Phoenix appeared with Mel Gibson in the thriller “Signs.” The M. Night Shyamalan film told the story of a family who discovers mysterious crop circles on their farmland, with Phoenix playing Gibson’s amusingly wide-eyed and naive younger brother. Phoenix next starred with Claire Danes in the little-seen romantic drama “It’s All About Love” (2003), the story of lovers’ attempts to save their relationship in a near-future world on the brink of cosmic collapse. The actor also provided the voice of Kenai, an Inuit hunter, in Disney’s animated “Brother Bear” (2003).

Early on in his career, Phoenix had often played supporting roles as conflicted, insecure characters with a darker side. He has earned positive reviews for his portrayals of various individuals: a troubled teen in Gus Van Sant’s To Die For (1995) co-starring with Nicole Kidman, a small-town troublemaker in Oliver Stone’s U-Turn, the cruel Roman emperor Commodus in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000) (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), a conflicted priest in Quills (2000), a washed-up baseball player in M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs (2002), a lovestruck farmer in Shyamalan’s The Village (2004), a disillusioned cameraman in Terry George’s Hotel Rwanda (2004), and a heroic firefighter in Ladder 49 (2004).

In 2004, Phoenix graduated to leading man status with headlining roles in three films. First, he reunited with Shyamalan for the tension-filled thriller “The Village,” playing a bold young member of an isolated 19th Century village whose desire to see the outside world threatens to break the community’s pact with the mysterious creatures who live in the surrounding forest. He also took the lead in the firefighting drama “Ladder 49″ (2004), playing a firefighter who reflects on his life, loves and career while awaiting rescue from a blaze. The actor fully immersed himself in the role by training with the Baltimore Fire Department for a month and participating in live rescue missions. Next Phoenix earned high praise for his turn as a cynical journalist witnessing the horrific 1994 genocide in “Hotel Rwanda” (2004), co-starring an excellent Don Cheadle as the manager of a luxury hotel where fleeing Tutsis go to seek refuge.

Proving to be an actor of rare versatility, Phoenix followed up with his biggest and most important role to date – playing country music legend Johnny Cash in James Mangold’s biopic “Walk the Line” (2005). The casting choice was blessed by no less than the Man in Black himself, following a meeting in which Cash quoted the actor with verbatim lines from “Gladiator.” Phoenix nailed the American music legend with stirring accuracy, chronicling his transformation from a self-conscious young performer to the commanding, nearly riot-inducing presence of the famed concert at Folsom Prison. Intensive vocal training made for surprisingly effective singing and playing of Cash’s tunes – earning him not an Oscar nomination nor a Golden Globe win, but a Grammy for the soundtrack.

When Phoenix checked himself into a rehab facility for alcoholism in April of 2005, the film’s gripping detox scenes took on a new poignancy – the memory of what demons had driven his brother to an early grave was never far from mind either. He subsequently took a much-needed hiatus from the demands of “Walk the Line” and spent time directing music videos for bands like Silversun Pickups and Albert Hammond Jr., among others. Phoenix also traveled to Brazil to participate in a documentary about the native Yanawana tribe for the socially-conscious production company Direct Current Media, immersing himself in the community and culture.

Upon being cast as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line after Cash himself approved, Joaquin responded by buying a guitar and learning how to play. 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”. All of Cash and Carter’s vocal tracks in the movie and on the accompanying soundtrack are played and sung by Phoenix and Witherspoon. In 2005, he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, and won a Golden Globe in the same category in 2006. In 2006, Phoenix was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Joaquin and River became the first brothers in Hollywood history to be nominated for an Academy Award in the acting category.

Phoenix returned to the screen in the fall of 2007 in “We Own the Night,” his third film for director Michael Gray. He co-starred with the equally intense Mark Wahlberg for a tale of family and professional loyalties in the nightclub and drug-dealing world of 1980s Brooklyn. Despite fine performances from the stars, it failed to make much of a dent in the public or critical consciousness. At the same time, Phoenix rolled out “Reservation Road,” a family drama pairing Phoenix with Mark Ruffalo with highly-anticipated results.

Phoenix may have evolved into an A-list Hollywood actor, but he never left behind the moral and political beliefs of his idealistic upbringing. He remained a staunch vegan and animal rights activist, appearing in vegetarian and anti-fur advertisements for PETA and participating in fundraising events for In Defense of Animals. Phoenix also garnered some publicity for his insistence on an entirely synthetic, PETA-approved wardrobe for his role as Johnny Cash, including plastic cowboy boots. He acted as a spokesman for The Peace Alliance an organization seeking the establishment of a governmental Department of Peace  and Amnesty International. Phoenix was also on the board of directors of The Lunchbox Fund, a food relief program for school-age children in South Africa. In 2005, the San Diego Film Festival honored him with a Humanitarian Award for his voiceover contribution to “Earthlings” (2005), a documentary project about animal abuses in manufacturing and industry. 

He has directed music videos for the following bands: Ringside, She Wants Revenge, People in Planes, Arckid, Albert Hammond Jr. and Silversun Pickups. Phoenix serves as one of the executive producers of a television show called 4Real, a half-hour series which showcase celebrity guests on global adventures “in order to connect with young leaders who are creating social and economic change.”, He is also listed as a producer on the movie We Own the Night. He recorded the album Walk the Line and won a Grammy Award at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards for his work on the soundtrack.

Phoenix has long been a social activist, lending his support to a number of charities and humanitarian organizations, notably Amnesty International, The Art of Elysium,HEART . and The Peace Alliance, an organization which campaigns for a United States Department of Peace. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors of The Lunchbox Fund, a charity that provides lunches for poverty-stricken school children in South Africa. Phoenix has been a dedicated vegan since the age of three. He is a member of PETA and the organization In Defense of Animals, and has actively campaigned on their behalf. He narrated the film Earthlings for ‘Nation Earth’ — a video about the investigation of animal abuse in factory farms, pet mills, in industry and research. In 2005, he was awarded the “Humanitarian Award” at the San Diego Film Festival for his work and contribution to Earthlings. In 2005, he participated in the documentary I’m Still Here: Real Diaries of Young People Who Lived During the Holocaust.

Phoenix’s parents are divorced. His mother is now married to Jeffrey Weisberg, treasurer and member of the Board of Directors of The Peace Alliance Foundation. The scar above his lip is a microform, almost taking the form of a cleft, as the tissues just reached far enough to join up. Once during his mother’s pregnancy, she felt a sharp pain and believes the two events are connected. Phoenix has stated on numerous occasions that he does not watch his performances on screen.

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