Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix | |
|---|---|
 Joaquin Phoenix | |
| Born | Joaquín Rafael Phoenix |
| Height | 5ft 8½in |
Joaquín Rafael Phoenix (pronounced IPA: [xwa.ˈkin̪ ra.fa.ˈe̞l ˈfiː.nɪks, hwakiːn fiːnɪks]) (born October 28, 1974), formerly credited as Leaf Phoenix, is a two-time Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe and Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican actor. He is from a family of performers, most notably his brother, the late actor River Phoenix. Phoenix often plays supporting roles as conflicted, insecure characters with a darker side.
Biography
Early life
Phoenix was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico to American parents who at the time worked as missionaries for the Children of God group. His father, John Lee Bottom, came from a Catholic California family. His mother, Arlyn Sharon Dunitz, was born in the Bronx to Yiddish-speaking[1] Jewish parents from Hungary and Russia;[2][3][4] she left her family in 1968 and moved to California,[1] later meeting Phoenix's father while hitchhiking.[5] Shortly after they met, the couple joined the Children of God sect and began traveling throughout South America as missionaries. Phoenix lived in Puerto Rico until he was six years old. Contrary to popular belief, the scar above his lip is not the remains of a repaired cleft lip. The birth scar is a microform, almost taking the form of a cleft, as the tissues just reached far enough to join up; since the bone and muscle tissues joined correctly no surgery or cleft repair was required. One day during his mother's pregnancy, she felt a sharp pain and he was born with the scar, implying that she believes the two events are connected.
Phoenix is the third of five children; the others are River (1970 – 1993), Rain or "Rainbow Joan of Arc" (1973), Liberty Butterfly or "Libertad Mariposa" (1976), and Summer or "Summer Joy" (1978). After leaving the sect and returning to the States (upon which they adopted the surname "Phoenix", which his mother becoming known as "Heart Phoenix"), the family moved to Los Angeles, where his mother started working as a secretary for NBC, and his father became a landscaper. John and Arlyn encouraged their children to develop their creative instincts. His parents hired an agent, who eventually got the five children acting work. Since his siblings all had nature-related names, Joaquin had begun going by "Leaf" at age four, inspired by spending time outdoors raking leaves with his dad. This is the name he would use as a child actor.
Career
Phoenix's first acting jobs were guest appearances on two television shows with his brother River: 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, and his first starring role was in Russkies (1987). He went on to establish himself as a child actor in Parenthood (1989), 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 — he was the person who dialed 9-1-1 when his brother River suffered a fatal drug overdose outside of a Hollywood nightclub, The Viper Room. He was reluctant to re-enter the world of acting, but he did so at the insistence of his friends. He changed his name from "Leaf" back to "Joaquin."
He portrayed a troubled teen in Gus Van Sant's To Die For co-starring with Nicole Kidman, and earned positive reviews for roles as the cruel Roman emperor Commodus in Gladiator (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), a conflicted priest in Quills, a washed-up baseball player in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, and a lovestruck farmer in Shyamalan's The Village.
Upon being cast as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line after Cash himself approved, Joaquin responded by buying a guitar and learning how to play. He spent several years practicing in-character as Johnny Cash before principal photography, including voice and guitar lessons, and mimicking Cash's persona. In 2006, he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, and won a Golden Globe in the same category, for his portrayal. 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." Indeed, all of the vocal tracks in the movie and on the accompanying soundtrack are played and sung by Phoenix and Witherspoon.
On January 26, 2006, a few days after his Golden Globe win for Walk the Line, he and another person were involved in an auto accident due to a brake malfunction in the Hollywood Hills suburb in Los Angeles when his SUV flipped over and skidded onto its side. He suffered no serious injuries, and was pulled from his overturned car by German art film director Werner Herzog, whose home was located nearby. Joaquin appeared at the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards a few days later. He has directed music videos for the following bands: Ringside, She Wants Revenge, People in Planes and Arckid.
Phoenix won a Grammy Award at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards for his work on the Walk the Line soundtrack.
Personal life
Phoenix resides in New York City and L.A.. He narrated the film Earthlings on behalf of Nation Earth -- a video about investigation of animal abuse in factory farms, pet mills, in industry and research. He was awarded the "Humanitarian Award" at the San Diego Film Festival in 2005 for his work and contribution to Earthlings. He is a supporter of animal rights and an active member of PETA and has been a dedicated vegan since age three. He is also a supporter of Amnesty International as well as The Peace Alliance,[6] an organization which campaigns for a United States Department of Peace. His mother is the president of this organization. Additionally, he is on the board of directors of "The Lunchbox Fund", a charity that provides lunches for poverty-stricken school children in South Africa. [7]
Phoenix's parents are now divorced; his father lives in Costa Rica and his mother is now re-married to a man named Jeffrey Weisberg.
Phoenix has stated on numerous occasions that he has never watched any of his performances on screen.
He has dated, among others, actress Liv Tyler, Inger Ebeltoft (Miss Norway 1995/96), and Topaz Page-Green, founder of the charity "The Lunchbox Fund".
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Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Space Camp | Max | Under the name Leaf Phoenix |
| 1987 | Russkies | Danny | Under the name Leaf Phoenix |
| 1989 | Parenthood | Garry Buckman-Lampkin | Under the name Leaf Phoenix, Young Artist Award - Nomination |
| 1995 | To Die For | Jimmy Emmett | Chlotrudis Award - Nomination |
| 1997 | U-Turn | Toby N. Tucker a.k.a. TNT | |
| Inventing the Abbotts | Doug Holt | ||
| 1998 | 8mm | Max California | |
| Clay Pigeons | Clay Bidwell | ||
| Return to Paradise | Lewis McBride | Csapnivalo Awards - Nomination | |
| 2000 | The Yards | Willie Gutierrez | (Best Supporting Actor) BFCA Award - Won, SDFCS Award - Won |
| Quills | The Abbe de Coulmier | (Best Supporting Actor) BFCA Award - Won, SDFCS Award - Won | |
| Gladiator | Commodus | BFCA - Won, BAFTA nomination, Golden Globe nomination, Oscars nomination | |
| 2001 | Buffalo Soldiers | Ray Elwood | British Independent Film Award - Nomination |
| 2002 | Signs | Merrill Hess | |
| 2003 | Brother Bear | Kenai | Voice Only |
| It's All About Love | John | ||
| 2004 | Ladder 49 | Jack Morrison | Movie Guide Award - Nomination, Teen Choice Award - Nomination, The Grace Award - Nomination |
| The Village | Lucius Hunt | ||
| Hotel Rwanda | Jack Daglish | Screen Actors Guild Award - Nomination | |
| 2005 | Walk the Line | Johnny Cash | Golden Globe - Won, BAFTA nomination, Oscars nomination |
| 2006 | Earthlings | Narrator | San Diego Film Festival "Humanitarian Award" - Won |
| 2007 | We Own the Night | Joseph | Producer |
| Reservation Road | Ethan Learner |
He Is Now Married To Nicole Ann Olsen-Pheonix They Have Two Girls One Is 9 Years And The Other Is 7 Months Old They Spilt Times Liveing In NewYork And LA They Got Married Chirstmas 2005.
See also
References
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
charitywas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ http://draven.ifrance.com/ames/s-press.html
- ^ http://www.river-phoenix.org/friends/heart-phoenix/
- ^ http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/90/363/16489_celebrities.html
- ^ http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/searchview.php?id=8397
- ^ http://www.thepeacealliance.org
- ^ http://www.thelunchboxfund.org/main.htm