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Joaquin Bottom was born on October 28, 1974, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His parents changed their last name from "Bottom" to "Phoenix" when Joaquin was a child. Joaquin and his siblings all pursued acting in their youth. Joaquin went by the name "Leaf Phoenix" in his child acting days. His brother, River Phoenix, tragically passed away at age 23. Joaquin readopted his given birth name in 1995, around which time he began to gain praise for his film performances. In the decades that followed, Phoenix acquired a reputation as one of Hollywood's strongest lead actors. His rise culminated in a win of the Oscar for Best Actor (for Joker) in 2020. Let's look at the actor's best roles!
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Joaquin Phoenix truly shook up the film world in 2019 with his performance as "Arthur Fleck" (AKA "Joker") in Joker. Phoenix put everything he had into the role, delivering a chilling version of the "Batman" villain's origins. His portrayal of the mentally-disturbed party clown and stand-up comedian (with an unforgettable laugh) earned him a 2020 awards season sweep of the Best Lead Actor category. With Joker, Phoenix eclipsed even the strongest of his earlier film roles.
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Joaquin may now be best-known for his role as "Joker," but he's been appearing in films since the 1980s! He featured in numerous child acting roles, including SpaceCamp and Parenthood. But the actor first received wider exposure with his role in Ridley Scott's Gladiator in 2000. Gladiator was a huge success, and Phoenix earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Oscars for his portrayal of "Commodus" in the film. Phoenix was 26-years-old when the film was released.
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Phoenix continued to showcase his acting abilities following Gladiator. Two years later, he costarred in the horror-drama Signs from director M. Night Shyamalan. In the film, he plays "Merrill," a dejected former aspiring pro baseball player who lives on a farm with his widowed father (played by Mel Gibson). The well-known horror film sees the family grow frightened by the appearance of crop circles and the possible presence of aliens.
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Phoenix further established himself with a strong portrayal of musician Johnny Cash in Walk The Line from 2005. Phoenix's "Cash" partnered with Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash in the film. He also sang all the parts in Walk The Line! The lead performances received rave reviews, which led to Phoenix's first Best Actor nomination and a win of the Golden Globe for Best Actor In A Musical or Comedy.
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In 2008, Joaquin Phoenix perplexed many by announcing his retirement from acting to pursue a career in hip-hop music. I'm Still Here traces Phoenix's journey in the hip-hop scene and his personal difficulties at the time. The film was originally described as a documentary, and Phoenix's odd public behaviour made headlines between 2008 and 2010. But it was later revealed that the film was a mockumentary and that Phoenix's actions were a part of a performance piece for the film. See Phoenix blur the lines between emotional breakdown and performance art in I'm Still Here.
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Following the experiment of Phoenix's I'm Still Here, the actor began a stretch of tour-de-force performances in the 2010s. The first was in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master from 2012. In the film, Phoenix plays "Freddie," a troubled and impressionable WWII veteran. He gets caught up in a cult-like organization called "The Cause" headed by Philip Seymour Hoffman's "Lancaster Dodd." The tense psychological drama sees Phoenix and the late Hoffman offer memorably powerful performances.
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Phoenix is at his most vulnerable in the science-fiction-romance film Her from 2013. He plays "Theodore," a lonely writer who develops a relationship with his AI virtual assistant (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). The film takes place in a near future that comments on the directions of contemporary technology, AI, and an increasingly unconnected human population.
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Joaquin reunited with Paul Thomas Anderson in 2014's Inherent Vice, an adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon novel. The film sees Phoenix's P.I. character navigate a complicated world of crime, disappearances, cults, and violence in Los Angeles, 1970. Phoenix shines once again in this role, as he faces conflicts with romance, death threats, and a detective played by Josh Brolin.
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Joaquin delivers a very underrated performance in the 2017 film You Were Never Really Here. The film sees Phoenix star as a traumatized veteran who grows involved in investigating human trafficking disappearances in New York City. The film plays as a psychological thriller as Phoenix's "Joe" uncovers corruption and violence all while battling flashbacks and his own troubled mind.
Joaquin Phoenix rose to the very top of the acting ranks with his many awards season wins for his performance in Joker in 2019. This included his first Oscar win for Best Actor. But this was far from his first stunning performance! Phoenix, in fact, has been appearing in films since the mid-1980s. Join us in taking a look back at the Joker star's impressive career and his best screen roles.
Enjoy the gallery!