Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; born October 28, 1974), formerly credited as
Leaf Phoenix, is a
film actor,
musician, and occasional
rapper. He was born in
San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he lived for the first 4 years of his childhood. His family then moved to the continental
United States, where he was raised. Among the many places in which he lived, because of his family's frequent moving, were
Mexico and various countries in
South America. Phoenix is from a family of performers which includes his older brother, the late
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 rapping career.
Family background and early life
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
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. Phoenix was born with a birth mark on his upper lip which many have since mistaken for a scar.
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 Phoenix 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 and died, 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, Phoenix reluctantly re-entered the world of acting.
Film career
Acting
Phoenix's first acting jobs were guest appearances on two television shows with his brother River in
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. His first starring role was in
Russkies (1987). He later co-starred in
Ron Howard's
Parenthood (1989), in which he was credited as Leaf Phoenix.
Early on in his career, Phoenix had often played supporting roles as conflicted, insecure characters with a dark 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 heroic firefighter in
Ladder 49 (2004).
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.
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. On October 27, 2008, at a benefit for
Paul Newman's
Association of Hole in the Wall Camps, Phoenix announced his retirement from acting and stated that he was going to be focusing on a music career.
Directing
He has directed music videos for the following bands:
Ringside,
She Wants Revenge,
People in Planes,
Arckid,
Albert Hammond Jr. and
Silversun Pickups.
Producing
Phoenix served as one of the executive producers of a television show called
, 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.
Music career
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 Mike Fox (of
Little Knickers) handling lead vocals and
Tim Burgess (
The Charlatans) on backing vocals. No release date has been given for the project.
He is currently the subject of a
documentary directed by his friend and brother-in-law
Casey Affleck; the documentary will follow him as he moves to a career making hip-hop music while managed by rap icon
Sean "Diddy" Combs. Filming began in late 2008.
Phoenix made his rap debut in mid-January 2009. Rumors circulated that it was an elaborate hoax, to which Phoenix stated "This is not a joke. Might I be ridiculous? Might my career in music be laughable? Yeah, that's possible, but that's certainly not my intention."
Social activism
Phoenix has long been a social activist, lending his support to a number of charities and humanitarian organizations, notably
Amnesty International, , , (an organization which campaigns for a
United States Department of Peace),
and is on the board of directors for .
Phoenix has been a dedicated
vegan since the age of three. He is a member of
P.E.T.A. 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 .
Filmography
Personal life
Phoenix dated actress
Liv Tyler from 1995 to November 1998. The couple met on the set of
Inventing the Abbotts. He checked into rehab to be treated for alcoholism in early April 2005. On January 26, 2006, Phoenix was in a car accident in Hollywood on a winding canyon road that flipped over his car. The crash reportedly was caused by brake failure. Shaken and confused, Phoenix heard a tapping on his window and a voice say, "Just relax." Unable to see the man, Phoenix replied, "I'm fine. I am relaxed." The man replied, "No, you're not." At this point, Phoenix managed to see that the man was famed, eccentric German auteur
Werner Herzog. After helping Phoenix out of the wreckage, Herzog phoned in an ambulance and vanished.
On February 11, 2009, Phoenix made an appearance on the
Late Show with David Letterman to promote his film
Two Lovers. He was largely unresponsive towards Letterman's questions about the film and his acting career. When the audience laughed at his hip-hop aspirations, he complained to Letterman that he was not joking around. At the end of the interview, Letterman said, "Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight," followed by laughter and applause from the audience. In an interview given earlier the same day for CinemaBlend.com the actor seemed completely coherent.
Ben Stiller parodied Phoenix's external appearance, posture and performance as an awards co-presenter at the
81st Academy Awards ceremony.
See also
