Joaquin Phoenix Biography

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Joaquin Phoenix biography:

Joaquin Phoenix was born Joaquin Raphael Phoenix on October 28th, 1974, in Puerto Rico. If angels truly exist, Joaquin must be one of them, for he seems to have been destined to perfume the air with his sweetness and put the audience under an hypnotic state of mind with his highly emotional, simple and brilliant acting. His mother's first name defines well what the Phoenix family is made of: Heart. Their connection with the sentimental side of human existence, where one can find genuine happiness, has marked their way of life over the years. Together, they made it through a path that, at times, seemed mission impossible.

WILLPOWER
Arlyn Dunitz Jochebed - his mother's "earthy" name-, born in 1944, New York, and father John Bottom Amram, born in Fontana, California, had four other kids to raise. They were River, Liberty, Rain and Summer. All of them named after nature, a decision that matched very well their vision of life. John was a landscaper and, by Joaquin's mother side, was a migrant fruit picker, independent Christian missionary, Children of God Archbishop of Venezuela and the Caribbean Islands and missionary with Children of God. Arlyn also worked as a temp at NBC, California, in 1978.

At times, the little siblings would sing in the streets to earn some money for the family. But what initially worked as a way for the kids to express themselves, something their parents always encouraged, ended up revealing the their natural talent for the arts. River and Rain had been specially gifted with the most enchanting voices, but Joaquin was too shy to follow them.

THE LONG JOURNEY
The Bottom family life was marked by frequent trips around America in search for a better life as missionaries with Children of God. The lack of money was never a strong enough reason to give it all up, but those certainly weren't easy times, marked with unforgettable memories such as the trailer with no back window that served as a home for a while. About this time, they must have a lot of stories to tell, good and bad. One of them is about the night when it was so cold inside due to the missing window that they had to use baby diapers to keep warm and be able to sleep.

After the long journey, the family name - originally "Bottom" - was changed to Phoenix. Just like the mythological bird, they had been born from the ashes and were ready to start a new life. At the age of four, Joaquin decided that he wanted a more earthy name like his elder siblings, River and Rain, so he decided on "Leaf" while raking leaves with his father. In the early 90s, he would take back his birth name.

PRODIGIOUS SONS
The creative kids of Arlyn and John grew up to be talented and successful adults, River being the one who got recognition still at a very early age. Throughout his short, yet remarkable career, he portrayed complex characters that helped understand the extent of his talent. Undoubtedly, he was a great, and positive, influence on Joaquin's career choice, as well as on its development.

Summer is an acclaimed indie movies' actress, and so is Rain, who's also sang back up for the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their tour in 1996 and for an R.E.M record (the music was "Happiness"), besides starring the video clip for the song "At my most beautiful". The only one who hasn't yet joined showbiz is Liberty, who's a housewife.

ROAD TO FAME
Joaquin dropped out of school in ninth grade."I was doing that home school thing and the motherfuckers sent a dead bloated frog to my house to dissect", justifies him. That was the beginning of a major change in his life that would lead to stardom.

After his auspicious part in "Parenthood" (1989), he made a self-imposed, six-year hiatus. After that, the young actor returned to the set to play, to chilling perfection, an aimless disaffected high school student who's seduced by a sexy cable-access weather girl into murdering her husband in "To Die For" (1995). "In the interim, I traveled around a lot, went down to Mexico to hang out with my dad for a while".

GLADIATOR
The name Joaquin Phoenix was in the spotlight again, and more often than ever, after the release of the epic movie "Gladiator" (2000), directed by Ridley Scott. Joaquin's remarkable work as Commodus, a young troubled Roman emperor, was acclaimed by both the critic and the public, and earned him a well-deserved nomination for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2001.

THE ARRIVAL

With eight films in the five years following Gladiator it would appear to some that Joaquin Phoenix was now taking advantage of his Best Supporting Actor nomination, feverishly throwing himself into projects, with reckless abandon.
But if you are a fan or a critic, and take each film for their true artistic merit, you will find unique and carefully chosen projects that showcase Mr. Phoenix's quirkiness and brilliant talent. Thus, quickly, yet reluctantly for him, launching this man into the realm of A-List status.

Though panned by critics and the media alike, 2001's Buffalo Soldiers is a film where Joaquin's subtle humor creates a stable platform for his future comedic roles, such as M. Night Shamaylan's 2002 hit Signs. Here we find his dry wit, quirky facial expressions and sarcastic one liners, a brilliant balance to Mel Gibson's dark portrayal of a man who's lost all hope in the face of the man's greatest fear, with the power of this performance leading into a follow up appearance in M.Night's 2004 sleeper, The Village. In 2003 Joaquin laid low with the futuristic thriller It's All About Love and the voice role of Kenai, in Disney's popular Brother Bear. The following year was one of Joaquin's best years at the box office, and the year where his fan-base exploded. The blockbuster Ladder 49 premiered to rave reviews and incredible 'word of mouth' buzz, where his performance as the doomed hero launched him into the domain of heartthrob leading man. As well, the politically charged Hotel Rwanda, a true story about a man's (Don Cheadle) fight to create a place of hope, in the midst of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Though his role was small it was powerful, and the simple association with such a highly decorated film only brought positive buzz to his name.

WALK THE LINE

Superstardom was now a reality for Joaquin in 2005. With a movie about a washed out old country star, not many had hopes that Walk the Line would achieve anything more than a blimp on the movie radar. But with great research, a deep chemistry between the leading actors (JP and Reese Witherspoon, who played June Carter Cash), and a score of classic country sung by the actors themselves, the movie started out with a bang that resounded around the world, with the effects still lingering in, and reviving, the 'musical' genre. Not only was Joaquin nominated for his second Academy Award within a decade, but he won a Golden Globe for his performance. He also won, of all things, a Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

THE SWEET SOUNDS

In the two years following the hot success of Walk the Line, Joaquin has decided to take a breather and focus his efforts on something other then film. Through a dear friend, Balthazar Getty, he has found a knack, a talent and a passion for directing music videos. Not only lending his keen eye to such productions as, Ringside's Tired of Being Sorry, People In Plane's If you talk too much, and She Wants Revenge's Tear you Apart, as well as a video for Arckid, but also his famous name, attracting otherwise nonexistent attention to these new and talented bands. In essence launching music careers that would have otherwise taken years to get established. He's enjoyed himself so much in the music industry, he's decided collaborate with Antony Langdon, former band member of the band Spacehog, in a band called, This Lady is a Tramp.

NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE

Though we've known that JP has been a hardcore vegan, with no apologies, even refusing to wear leathers on the set of Gladiator, over the course of the last couple years he's made his presence known more as an activist, instead of simply a guy who doesn't eat meat. Since the early 90s JP has lent his name to the organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and made appearances, as .well as a video, urging society to rethink their values through their eating habits. He narrated a multi-award winning documentary, the 2003 Earthlings, bringing attention to the huge problem of factory farming and mankind's dependence on animals for food, clothing, entertainment, and in the use of experimentation. He's involved himself in many projects with The Peace Alliance, (a national movement to promote the Department of Peace), as well as with Amnesty International. His most recent effort, Stop, a short film using the powerful and moving metaphor of an abused child as Mother Earth, in order to grace us the awareness of what we as humans are doing to our planet. Here he is joining such celebrities as Leonardo DiCaprio, The 11th Hour; Brad Pitt, Design:e2 and Keanu Reeves, The Great Warming in helping society's consciousness, allowing us the advantage of recognizing our short-comings concerning the environment and making us realize that this is a problem now, not 100 years from now. For this he should be most proud.
Least of all, he serves on the board of directors of The Lunchbox Fund, which provides lunches to poverty stricken school children in South Africa.
- discoveringjoaquin.com

Career Highlights

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Last update: Mar 26 2009, 10:24 PM EDT by ed (content history | content tools) (help)

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