Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (pronounced xoakin finiks born October 28, 1974), formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is an American/Puerto Rican film actor turned musician. He is from a family of performers and is the younger brother of actor River Phoenix.
Phoenix has ventured behind the camera, directing music videos as well as producing movies and television shows, and has recorded an album, the soundtrack to Walk the Line. He is also known for his work as a social activist, particularly as an advocate for animal rights. On October 27, 2008, he announced his retirement from film in order to focus on his music career.
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 travelling throughout South America.
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. They changed their last name to "Phoenix" to symbolize a new beginning. 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. Joaquin and his siblings were eventually discovered by one of Hollywood's leading children's agents, Iris Burton, who got the five children acting work, mainly doing commercials and television show appearances. Phoenix went on to establish himself a child actor before deciding to withdraw from acting for a while and travel to Mexico and South America with his father.
Phoenix came back into public view under tragic circumstances: on October 31, 1993, his brother, River Phoenix, suffered a fatal drug overdose, outside the famed Hollywood nightclub The Viper Room, which was owned by Johnny Depp. 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.
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 an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode: "A very happy ending" the same year, and his first starring role was in Russkies (1987). He later co-starred in Ron Howard's Parenthood (1989), during which his name was still Leaf Phoenix, as seen in the credits.
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).[12]
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.
On October 27, 2008 at a benefit for Paul Newman's Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, a bearded and sunglasses-wearing Phoenix gave a brief and "slurred" interview to Extra, saying: "Listen, I want to take this opportunity, um, also to give you an exclusive and just talk a little bit about the fact that, um, this'll be my last performance, as an actor; I'm not doing films anymore." When the interviewer failed to take him seriously and began laughing, Phoenix said, ""Thanks man, it was good to see you. No, dude. Dude, good to see you," while pulling up his pants and walking away.
On November 1, 2008 at the premier for his supposedly final film, titled Two Lovers, Phoenix appeared on the red carpet with the "BYE!" and "GOOD" written on his knuckles. That evening, he told an interviewer that, "I'm just going to try and like, I'll just be doing the other thing... Hopefully, I will emotionally impact you with that, as well."
Phoenix has stated on numerous occasions that he does not watch his performances on screen.
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 soundtrack album Walk the Line and won a Grammy Award at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards for his work on the soundtrack.In May 2008, it was reported that Phoenix had been recording songs he had written himself, with Anthony Langdon (of Spacehog) handling lead vocals and Tim Burgess (The Charlatans) on backing vocals. No release date has been given for the project.
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, contrary to the popular belief that it is the remnant of a repaired cleft lip, may in fact be just a birthmark. Once during his mother's pregnancy, she felt a sharp pain and believes the two events are connected.
