Real Name: Joaquin Rafael Phoenix
Nationality: Puerto Rican
Height: 5' 8"
Hair: Dark Brown
Eyes: Blue / Green
Born: October, 28 1974 in
San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Discovered: Raised in a religious, yet hippie-style family Joaquin's first real acting gig was a guest appearance on River's sitcom "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1982).
He made his big-screen debut as the youngest crew member in the interstellar romp SpaceCamp (1986), then won his first starring turn in the Cold War-era drama Russkies (1987).
In the late '80s, the Phoenix clan decided to pull up stakes and relocate again - this time to Florida. Joaquin wasn't sure what lay in store for him in the Sunshine State. As it happened, Universal Pictures had just opened a new studio in the area and he was cast almost immediately as an angst-ridden adolescent in Parenthood (1989). His performance was very well-received, but Joaquin decided to withdraw from acting for a while - he was frustrated with the dearth of interesting roles for actors his age, and he wanted to see more of the world. His parents were in the process of separating, so he struck out for Mexico with his father.
Joaquin returned to the public eye three years later under tragic circumstances. On October 31, 1993, he was at The Viper Room (an L.A. nightclub partly owned by Johnny Depp) when his brother River collapsed from a drug overdose and later died. Joaquin made the call to 911, which was rebroadcast on radio and TV the world over. Months later, at the insistence of friends and colleagues, Joaquin began reading through scripts again, but he was reluctant to re-enter the acting life until he found just the right part.
He finally signed up to work with Gus Van Sant to star as Nicole Kidman's obsessive devotee in To Die for (1995). The performance made Joaquin (who had dropped Leaf and reverted to his birth name) a critics' darling in his own right. After that role he went on to star in several successful films including The Yards, Gladiator, The Village, Hotel Rwanda, Ladder 49 and Walk the Line.
Resume: Walk the Line (2005)
Ladder 49 (2004)
The Village (2004)
Brother Bear (2003)
It's All About Love (2003)
Signs (2002)
Buffalo Soldiers (2001)
The Yards (2000)
8MM (1999)
Clay Pigeons (1998)
U Turn (1997)
Inventing the Abbotts (1997)
Walking the Dog (1991)
Secret Witness (1988) (TV)
Russkies (1987)
Romance: Dated Liv Tyler (1995-1998)
Quotes: "When I go out with the ladies, I don't force them to pronounce my name. I tell them I like to go by the nickname of Kitten." - Joaquin Phoenix.
"I had a Catholic girlfriend but she wouldn't, uh, share loving." - Joaquin Phoenix.
"After River's death, I felt like I was in an altered state. It took me over a year to get my life back." - Joaquin Phoenix.
"I don't have the slightest desire to speak about my dead brother. It gets on my nerves to always be compared with him. My brother was a magnificent person and an outstanding actor." - Joaquin Phoenix
"River and I would talk about being old, being in our 50s together, how it'd probably take us that long to get to work together. There was something gorgeous about us being old together. River will be missed -period. I mean now, more than ever I wish I could talk to him." - Joaquin Phoenix on living without older brother River
"My significant other right now is myself, which is what happens when you suffer from multiple personality disorder and self-obsession." - Joaquin Phoenix
"I'm a great believer in people coming into your life, and you into theirs, for a reason. And i know that when Liv and I met, it was for a reason - I really needed her and she really needed me. And at a certain point, I think we stopped evolving with each other, stopped progressing, and made a very mature decision to move on, even though there was still a great love there. There's no one gossipy thing that I can share. I`m thankful that we had the time we had." - Joaquin Phoenix on his relationship with Liv Tyler
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