Joaquin phoenix

Joquin was known for years as the brother of River Phoenix . If the comparisons were always odious, in this case the continuous questions about his deceased brother are not without a certain macabre connotation. Joaquin settles the issue: “I don’t have the slightest desire to talk about my brother’s death. He was a magnificent person and an excellent actor.” His discomfort is evident since Joaquin has always been very close to his brothers. Since he was born in 1974 in San Juan (Puerto Rico) he had a very intense relationship with his family. His parents belonged to a religious group called The Children of God, and his four siblings shared a deep artistic interest with him.

At the age of four he changed his name to Leaf (leaf), thus imitating his older brothers River (river) and Rain (rain). Two years later, her family settled in Los Angeles and a representative took care of the five brothers, who began working for television. Despite the fact that they did not accept advertisements for meat, milk or prepared dishes – they were all strictly vegetarian – they managed so that they did not lack advertising work. Within the television scene, Joaquin agreed in 1982 to his first role in a chapter of the series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers , in whose cast was River; he met his brother again in the television special Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia (1984). He later participated in series as famous asHill Street Sad Song (1984), Murder She Wrote (1984) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1986). He made the leap to the big screen with the science fiction adventure SOS Blue Team (1986). Work that served him to shoot Russians (1987), his first leading role.

It has been said that Joaquin Phoenix’s work is unpredictable, that his dedication is total but that he is still a complicated guy. Whether or not it is true, what is true is that he conveys an image charged with mystery and uncertainty. So, since he was a little boy, he was commissioned roles that were far from the ideal of an infinitely good and flat leading man. The fact of playing bad, or not so good, is not a problem for Phoenix: “I don’t know why they always want me for those kinds of roles. But I don’t eat my head. Villains are much more fun.” Thus, in 1989 he played a troubled teenager in Sweet Home… Sometimes!. His performance was well received, but Joaquin still withdrew because he felt there were no interesting roles for boys his age. The 90s arrived and Leaf abandoned her name to resume the original Joaquin. His friends pressured him to return to making movies and he finally agreed to work with Nicole Kidman in Gus Van Sant ‘s film All for a Dream (1995). He had returned to the world of celluloid and his next step was to combine his professional and personal life, although he confesses that it is impossible for him to find a balance between the two. It was in The Secret of the Abbotts (1997) where he met Liv Tyler, who was his girlfriend for more than three years. He says of her: “I am grateful for the time we share.” Phoenix continued his acting work in films such as Oliver Stone ‘s Turn to Hell (1997) , Return to Paradise (1998), Too Deep (1998), Murder on 8mm (1999) opposite Nicolas Cage , and The Flipside of Crime (2000).

And Rome arrived, the epic and the adventure. The role of Emperor Commodus in Ridley Scott ‘s Oscar-winning Gladiator (2000) led to his Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. Again playing bad, and what is more relevant, again with a complex character, full of nuances. His career had received a boost that allowed him to play a priest facing the Marquis de Sade in Quills (2000), a black-market smuggling soldier in Buffalo Soldiers (2001), a futuristic lover in It’s All For Love (2003) and cartoon by lending his voice to the protagonist of Brother Bear (2003). He has worked twice with M. Night Shyamalan onSignals (2002) and The Forest (2004). Then came Johnny Cash , a country legend, who asked that the movie about his life star Joaquin Phoenix. And that’s how the actor became the legendary singer Walking the Tightrope (2005). Both he and his co-star, Reese Witherspoon , performed all of the songs in the film. Both works helped them to obtain the Golden Globe, an Oscar nomination, in the case of Phoenix, and the Oscar for Witherspoon. And it is that Joaquin gave himself body and soul to this role that presented many challenges, among which he highlighted “humanizing the figure of Johnny Cash, and discovering the man behind the legend.”

The success and recognition of Walking the Line have turned Phoenix’s career upside down, although some things seem to have remained the same: “I’ve always tried to choose my roles. What’s happening now is that the range of choice has widened. I have more options and I’ll probably be able to work more regularly, but I’ve always tried to only make the movies I wanted to make. I’ve never let anyone decide for me. Not my agent, not anyone.” And future picks include Without Remorse , by John Singleton , and We Own the Night by James Gray , with whom he previously worked on The Other Side of Crime .