Outstanding actor as the 'Joker' of recent times: Who is Joaquin Phoenix?

His real name, Joaquin Rafael Bottom, was born on October 28, 1974, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was born to his British, German and French father, John Lee Bottom, the founder of a horticultural company, and his mother, the executive secretary, Arlyn "Heart" Bottom. Moreover, his mother provided acting job for her children in connection with an agency. Phoenix has four siblings. These; River, born in 1970, and Rain, born in 1972, and Liberty, born in 1976, and Summer, born in 1978. All of these siblings are engaged in acting. Furthermore, he has a paternal half-sister named Jodean, born in 1964.

Everyone in the family had idyllic names like River, Rain, so he changed his name to "Leaf" and kept that name until high school. In 1979, Phoenix's father had to stop working due to an injury. So, the whole family moved to Los Angeles, and his mother met a children's agency named Iris Burton, who put Phoenix and his siblings in commercials and got small roles on television. He made his acting debut with his brother in the 'Christmas Song' episode of the 1982 television series 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'.

In 1984, Phoenix appeared on the 'Afterschool Special' of the ABC tv series 'Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia'. He also guest-starred in "Murder, She Wrote", "The Fall Guy" and "Hill Street Blues". A year later, he appeared in the television drama "Kids Don't Tell". Dissatisfied with life in Los Angeles, Phoenix settled in Gainesville, Florida.

He made his feature film debut in the adventure film "SpaceCamp" (1986) as a young boy who goes to Kennedy Space Center to learn about the NASA space program and receives amateur astronaut training. That same year, he guest-starred in an episode of the TV anthology series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" as a boy who blackmails a hitman into killing his father. He made his first leading role in the comedy-drama film "Russkies" (1987), about a group of friends who befriend a Russian soldier.

In 1989, Phoenix played the introverted teenager Garry in Ron Howard's comedy-drama film "Parenthood." The movie was a box office success with the revenue it earned against the production budget. The film, which received critical acclaim, garnered negative reviews for its cast and performances. He earned a nomination for the Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film for his performance.

Considering himself a child actor, Phoenix thought he wasn't getting attractive offers and decided to take a break from acting. Then he went to Mexico with his father to learn Spanish. When he returned to the United States, his brother River encouraged Phoenix to change his name from 'Leaf' back to 'Joaquin' and start acting again. On October 31, 1993, his brother River died of a drug overdose in West Hollywood. On top of that, Phoenix withdrew to Costa Rica with his family.

In 1995, Phoenix returned to acting in Gus Van Sant's black comedy "To Die For" with Nicole Kidman, based on the novel of the same name. The film, which premiered at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, was praised both at the box office and for the performance of the actors. Two years later, he played a small-town troublemaker in Oliver Stone's crime thriller "U Turn." In the same year, he played a poor man in love with a rich woman in the period film "Inventing the Abbotts". Both films received mostly mixed and negative reviews and failed to perform well at the box office.

The following year, he appeared in the black comedy "Clay Pigeons" as a young man in a small town who befriends a serial killer. The film was released with a poor box office performance and was received negatively by critics. He co-starred with Nicolas Cage in his next film, the thriller "8mm"(1999). The film, which was a financial success, grossing $96 million worldwide, was not well liked by the critics.

Phoenix starred in three films in 2000. The first came with Russell Crowe, when he appeared as a fictionalized version of the Roman Emperor Commodus in Ridley Scott's historical epic film "Gladiator." The critically acclaimed film grossed $457 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of that year. For his performance, he received his first nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award in the Best Supporting Actor category. Phoenix and his late brother, River, became the first siblings to be nominated for the acting Academy Awards, and are the only siblings to ever have this distinction.

His next film was in the crime film "The Yards"(2000), directed by James Gray. Despite not performing well at the box office, the film garnered positive reviews from critics, and many thought he stood out for his performance as the villain. His third film of 2000 came as the contradictory priest Abbé de Coulmier opposite Kate Winslet in "Quills," a satirical period thriller by Philip Kaufman based on a play. The film was a modest art house success with its box office receipts. With his performances this year, he was crowned with the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor and the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor.

The following year, he got the lead role as a U.S. Army soldier in the satirical movie "Buffalo Soldiers." The film, which had its world premiere at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival in early September, was released on 25 July 2003. He earned a nomination for a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor for his performance. He later appeared as baseball player Merrill Hess alongside Mel Gibson in the science fiction thriller "Signs" (2002), directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film received mixed reviews from critics, and Phoenix's performance was also praised by the critics. A commercial success, the film was a success, grossing $408.2 million worldwide.

In 2003, Phoenix co-starred with Claire Danes in Thomas Vinterberg's romantic drama "It's All About Love" as the indecisive husband of a superstar-skater. That same year, he voiced the character Kenai in the Disney animated movie "Brother Bear" as the lead role. The film grossed $250.4 million worldwide and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

The following year, he reunited with director M. Night Shyamalan in the period thriller "The Village" (2004). In the movie, he played the farmer Lucius Hunt. Despite initially receiving mixed reviews, the film was considered one of Shyamalan's best films. Many critics praised Phoenix's performance as "awesome". The film was a financial success, grossing worldwide against its production budget.

The next film that year, he starred opposite John Travolta in the drama "Ladder 49" as a Baltimore firefighter. In preparation for the role, he trained for two months to put out real fires. The film received mixed reviews and was a healthy commercial success at the box office. His final film debut in 2004 came with Terry George playing the cameraman Jack Daglish in the drama movie "Hotel Rwanda". While co-starring in the film with Don Cheadle, he achieved moderate and critical financial success. It was also met with mostly positive reviews from critics. His performance earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination along with the cast.

The following year, he co-starred with Reese Witherspoon in the drama film "Walk the Line," a Johnny Cash biopic directed by James Mangold. All of Cash's vocals in the film and the accompanying soundtrack were played and sung by Phoenix. The film grossed $186 million worldwide against its production budget. For his performance, he received critical acclaim and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy Film. Additionally, it won a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack in Visual Media for the soundtrack of the film. He also earned a second Academy Award nomination in the Best Actor category.

Later that year, he described the film "Earthlings" (2005), a documentary on scientific research and the study of animal abuse in factory farms and pet factories. For his work and contribution to the film, he was crowned with the Humanitarian Award at the San Diego Film Festival in 2005.

Two years later, Phoenix's first production role was as nightclub manager Bobby Green/Grusinsky in the action thriller "We Own the Night" (2007), in which he starred with Mark Wahlberg and Robert Duvall, directed by James Gray. The film was met with mixed reviews, while Gray's directing and acting were praised. Later that year, he played Terry George, an obsessive father, in his second feature-length crime drama, "Reservation Road." The film received mixed reviews from critics and was praised for Phoenix's acting.

In 2008, Phoenix starred in James Gray's romantic drama film "Two Lovers" with Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw. Reviews of both the movie and Phoenix's performance were positive. Additionally, the film has been described as Phoenix's best performance to date. In 2010, he starred alongside Casey Affleck in the parody movie "I'm Still Here" (2010), directed by Casey Affleck. Premiering at the 67th Venice International Film Festival, the film opened to mixed reviews.

In 2011, Phoenix took the lead role in Paul Thomas Anderson's psychological drama film "The Master," opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams. He lost a significant amount of weight for the role and had to go to a dentist to force her jaw to shut on one side. The film premiered at the 2012 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, and Phoenix's performance was highly praised. He also earned Academy Award, Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award nominations for his performance.

He later came on to appear with Marion Cotillard and Jeremy Renner in James Gray's drama film "The Immigrant" (2013). While the film was praised for the performances and harmonies of the actors, it failed to show the same success at the box office. His next movie that year was when he appeared with Scarlett Johansson in the romantic sci-fi drama "Her" directed by Spike Jonze. The film managed to earn almost more than double its production budget. Phoenix garnered praise for his outstanding performance and earned his fourth nomination at the Golden Globe Awards.

In 2014, Phoenix appeared as private detective and hippie/drug head Doc Sportello in the crime comedy-drama "Inherent Vice" based on the detective novel of the same name. Reviews for the film were positive, and Phoenix's performance was praised. Additionally, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his performance. The next year, he appeared alongside Emma Stone in the role of Abe Lucas, a philosophy professor, in Woody Allen's crime mystery film "Irrational Man." The film, which received mixed reviews, garnered positive reviews for the cohesion and performances of the leading roles.

In 2017, Phoenix starred in the most critically acclaimed film of his career, "You Were Never Really Here," the thriller written and directed by Lynne Ramsay and based on the novel of the same name. The film follows Joe, a traumatized ex-FBI agent and Gulf War veteran who tracks down missing girls for a living. To prepare for the role, he gained a significant amount of weight and muscle. The film took place at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it received universal acclaim and Phoenix won the "Best Actor Award" at the Cannes Film Festival.

The following year, he played Jesus in the biblical drama "Mary Magdalene" directed by Garth Davis. While the film and performance received mixed reviews, it has been hailed as one of the best depictions of Jesus ever. Later in the same year, he appeared in two more films. The first came when he played the paralyzed cartoonist John Callahan in Gus Van Sant's biopic, "Don't Worry, He Won't Walk Away." He received great acclaim for his performance. The second was when he appeared alongside John C. Reilly in Jacques Audiard's crime drama "The Sisters Brothers", an adaptation of the novel of the same name, and the film was critically much better received than the first.

Also in 2018, he teamed up with Rooney Mara and Sia to narrate Chris Delforce's documentary "Dominion." Animal rights activists considered the film one of the most powerful documentaries ever made. For his contribution to the film, Phoenix was honored with the 2018 Narrative Excellence Award by the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards.

In 2019, Phoenix was cast as the DC Comics character Joker in Todd Phillips' psychological thriller "Joker." The film follows Arthur Fleck, a failed clown and stand-up comedian, who returns to madness and nihilism and inspires a violent counterculture revolution against the rich in a decaying Gotham City. Phoenix, who lost 24 kg in preparation for the role, received rave reviews for his performance. Additionally, the film was met with reciprocal criticism after its release. Despite this, the film was a box office success, grossing over $1 billion in return for its production budget. It also became Phoenix's highest-grossing film, while being the first and only R-rated film to do so. He won numerous awards for his performance, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, a SAG Award, and a Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor.

In 2021, he played radio reporter Johnny, who is on a nationwide tour with his young nephew in Mike Mills' drama "C'mon C'mon." The film premiered to universal acclaim and had the best average per venue with a limited release since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. He received praise and applause for his performance. Later, he played Beau Wassermann, the title character in Ari Aster's surrealist dark tragicomedy "Beau Is Afraid" (2023). The film was released to generally positive reviews, with critics praising Aster's direction and Phoenix's performance.

Phoenix has four upcoming movies. The first of these is prepared by his portrayal of Napoleon Bonaparte in "Napoleon" directed by Ridley Scott. He is also preparing to star in the new feature film "Polaris", directed by Lynne Ramsay, with Rooney Mara. As reported in June 2022, Phoenix will star in the sequel psychological thriller "Joker: Folie à Deux" written by Scott Silver and Todd Phillips. He is also preparing to co-star with Mara in Pawel Pawlikowski's dramatic thriller "The Island."

Private life

From 1995 to 1998 Phoenix was in a relationship with actress Liv Tyler. From 2001 to 2005, he was in a relationship with South African model Topaz Page-Green. Phoenix sits on the board of "The Lunchbox Fund," a non-profit organization founded by Page-Green that provides daily meals to students of township schools in Soweto, South Africa.

In 2012, Phoenix met actress Rooney Mara on the set of a movie. Continuing as friends, the couple stepped into a romantic relationship four years later. The couple's engagement was confirmed in July 2019. In 2020, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child. The couple gave birth to a son named River Lee, named after Phoenix's deceased brother, who was born on August 25, 2020. Phoenix lives with his family in Hollywood Hills.

Rarely interviewed, Phoenix is known for being reticent about discussing his private life. In early April 2005, Phoenix attended rehab to seek treatment for alcoholism. Phoenix also enjoys meditating, watching documentaries, reading scripts and taking karate lessons. Additionally, he has a black belt in karate. In 2020, Phoenix was listed by The New York Times on their list of "25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century". Additionally, he is described as one of the most active celebrities in the animal rights movement. Long vegan, Phoenix also does not wear any clothing made of animal skin.