Katana VentraIP

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Rafael Phoenix[a] (/hwɑːˈkn/; Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Known for playing dark, unconventional and eccentric characters in independent film, in particular period dramas, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2020, The New York Times named him one of the greatest actors of the 21st century.[3]

Joaquin Phoenix

Joaquin Rafael Bottom

(1974-10-28) October 28, 1974

American

Leaf Phoenix

  • Actor
  • producer
  • activist

1982–present

Rooney Mara (2016–present)

1

Phoenix began his career by appearing in television series in the early 1980s with his brother River. His first major film roles were in SpaceCamp (1986) and Parenthood (1989). During this period, he was credited as Leaf Phoenix, a name he gave himself. He took back his birth name in the early 1990s and received critical acclaim for his supporting roles in the comedy-drama To Die For (1995) and the period film Quills (2000). Phoenix received further critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Commodus in the historical drama Gladiator (2000). He had success with the horror films Signs (2002) and The Village (2004), the historical drama Hotel Rwanda (2004), and won a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of musician Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line (2005).


Following a brief sabbatical, Phoenix starred in the psychological drama The Master (2012), winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and earning his third Academy Award nomination. He gained praise for his roles in the romantic drama Her (2013) and the crime satire Inherent Vice (2014), and won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for the psychological thriller You Were Never Really Here (2017). For his performance as the titular character of Joker (2019), Phoenix won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He has since starred in the independent films C'mon C'mon (2021) and Beau Is Afraid (2023), and portrayed the title role in the historical drama Napoleon (2023).


Phoenix is an animal rights activist. He has been vegan since the age of three and regularly supports charitable causes and has produced several documentaries on global meat consumption and its impact on the environment. He is in a relationship with actress Rooney Mara, with whom he has a son.

Early life[edit]

Joaquin Rafael Bottom was born on October 28, 1974, at the Hospital Metropolitano San Francisco in the Río Piedras district of San Juan, Puerto Rico,[4] to John Lee Bottom, the founder of a landscape gardening company, and Arlyn "Heart" Bottom (née Dunetz), who was an executive secretary at NBC and whose connection to an agent provided her children with acting work.[5] He is the third of five children, following River (1970–1993) and Rain (born 1972), and preceding Liberty (born 1976) and Summer (born 1978), all of whom have been involved in acting. Phoenix also has a paternal half-sister, Jodean (born 1964).[6] His father was a Catholic from Fontana, California, and was of English, German and French ancestry.[7] His maternal grandfather, Meyer Dunetz, was Russian Jewish and his maternal grandmother, Margit Lefkowitz, was Hungarian Jewish; they were both Ashkenazi Jews who resided in New York City.[8] Phoenix's parents met when his mother was hitchhiking in California, and they got married less than a year after meeting.[9]


Soon after the second child was born, they joined the religious cult called Children of God and travelled throughout South America and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean as missionaries for the cult, where the next two children were born. They eventually became disillusioned with Children of God and left in 1977, being opposed to the cult's increasingly distorted rules, particularly the practice of flirty fishing.[10] The fifth child was born in Florida where the family settled; around this time they legally adopted the surname Phoenix, inspired by the mythical bird that rises from its own ashes, symbolizing a new beginning.[1] When Phoenix was three, he and his older siblings witnessed fish being stunned as "they were throwing them against the side of the boat." This act made the whole family convert to a vegan lifestyle.[11] At this time, he first referred to himself as "Leaf", having been inspired by spending time outdoors raking leaves and desiring to have a nature-related name like his siblings.[2] Leaf became the name he used before changing it back to his birth name Joaquin at the age of fifteen.[1]

Career[edit]

1980–1993: Early work and family tragedy[edit]

In 1979, after Phoenix's father had to stop working because of an old spinal injury, the whole family moved to Los Angeles where the mother met a high-profile child agent named Iris Burton, who got the children into commercials and bit parts on TV.[12] He made his acting debut alongside his brother in the television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in the 1982 episode "Christmas Song".[13] He has said of his first time acting:

Other ventures[edit]

Music[edit]

Phoenix has directed music videos for Ringside,[155] She Wants Revenge,[156] People in Planes,[157] Arckid,[158] Albert Hammond Jr.,[159] and Silversun Pickups.[160] He was said to have produced the opening track for Pusha T's My Name Is My Name album alongside Kanye West. The track is called "King Push". Phoenix then denied in a statement to XXL having produced the record, saying, "While it was widely reported that Pusha T used my beat and that I produced his song, I can't take any credit. A friend's son played me his music, and all I did was make an introduction to Kanye [West]'s camp."[161]

Animal rights activism[edit]

Phoenix is identified as one of the most active celebrities in the animal rights movement.[162] A vegan since age three, he does not wear any clothes made out of animal skin; he requests that all of his leather costumes in films are made from synthetic materials.[163] Phoenix has said that animal rights are one of the most important pillars in his life, and maintains that "climate change is imminent if we do not adopt a plant-based lifestyle".[164] He has helped raise awareness of the correlation between animal rights, climate change and health issues.[165]


Phoenix has received praise and accolades from animal rights groups, with PETA naming him "Person of the Year" in 2019. PETA's president, Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement: "Joaquin Phoenix never misses an opportunity to turn the spotlight away from himself and onto animals' plight and to set a great example of walking the vegan walk".[166] He has been an active supporter of numerous animal rights organizations, including PETA.[167]

Personal life[edit]

Views and lifestyle[edit]

After re-establishing himself as an actor in the mid-1990s, Phoenix moved back to Los Angeles.[141] He is known for his disdain of celebrity culture, rarely granting interviews, and being reticent about discussing his private life.[107][142] In 2018, he described himself as a secular Jew who does not affiliate with any organized religion; one of his "core values" is the idea of forgiveness.[183] Phoenix has also claimed that his mother believed in Jesus, though his parents were not religious. While portraying Jesus for the 2018 movie Mary Magdalene, he expressed that the role changed his perspective on the nature of forgiveness.[184]


In early April 2005, Phoenix checked himself into rehab to be treated for alcoholism.[185] Twelve years later, he revealed that he did not need an intervention: "I really just thought of myself as a hedonist. I was an actor in L.A. I wanted to have a good time. But I wasn't engaging with the world or myself in the way I wanted to". On January 26, 2006, while driving down a winding canyon road in Hollywood, Phoenix veered off the road and flipped his car.[186] The crash was reportedly caused by brake failure. Shaken and confused, he heard someone tapping on his window and telling him to "just relax". Unable to see the man, Phoenix replied, "I'm fine. I am relaxed." The man replied, "No, you're not." The man then stopped Phoenix from lighting a cigarette while gasoline was leaking into the car cabin. Phoenix realized that the man was German filmmaker Werner Herzog. While Herzog helped Phoenix out of the wreckage by breaking the back window of the car, bystanders called an ambulance. Phoenix approached Herzog to express his gratitude.[187][188]


In 2012, Phoenix labeled the Academy Awards "bullshit". He later gave an interview apologizing for his comments, and acknowledged that the awards provide an important platform for many deserving filmmakers.[189] He elaborated on the topic while on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2015, explaining that he is uncomfortable receiving accolades for his work in films when he considers the filmmaking process to be a collaborative one.[190]


A longtime vegan, Phoenix finds animal agriculture "absurd and barbaric". He explained his reasoning behind his veganism; "To me, it just seems obvious – I don't want to cause pain to another living empathetic creature. I don't want to take its babies away from it, I don't want to force it to be indoors and fattened up just to be slaughtered. Certainly, also, the effect that it has on our environment is devastating. So, for me, it's my life and has always been my life, and it's really one of the most important things to me."[191]

Relationships and family[edit]

From 1995 to 1998, Phoenix dated his Inventing the Abbotts co-star Liv Tyler. The two remain close friends, with Tyler considering Phoenix and his sisters as her family.[192] He was romantically involved with South African model Topaz Page-Green from 2001 to 2005.[193] Phoenix is currently on the board of directors for The Lunchbox Fund, a non-profit organization which provides daily meals to students of township schools in Soweto, South Africa, founded by Page-Green.[194]


In 2012, Phoenix met Her co-star Rooney Mara. The two remained friends and began a romantic relationship four years later, during the making of Mary Magdalene.[5][195] They were engaged to be married in July 2019, but the ceremony never took place.[196] In August 2020, the couple had a son.[197] In February 2024, it was reported that Mara and Phoenix are expecting their second child.[198] They reside in the Hollywood Hills. Phoenix has described his family life as simple. He enjoys meditating, watching documentaries, reading scripts and taking karate classes. He has a black belt in karate.[141][199]

(2001): Best Supporting Actor, nomination, as Commodus in Gladiator

73rd Academy Awards

(2006): Best Actor, nomination, as John R. "Johnny" Cash in Walk the Line

78th Academy Awards

(2013): Best Actor, nomination, as Freddie Quell in The Master

85th Academy Awards

(2020): Best Actor, win, as Arthur Fleck / Joker in Joker

92nd Academy Awards

List of actors with Academy Award nominations

List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories

List of Jewish Academy Award winners and nominees

List of Puerto Ricans

List of animal rights advocates

List of vegans

at IMDb

Joaquin Phoenix

at the TCM Movie Database

Joaquin Phoenix

at Rotten Tomatoes

Joaquin Phoenix