Rise to Fame
Johnny Cash reportedly handpicked him for Walk the Line after watching his performance as Emperor Commodus in Gladiator. That 2000 Oscar nomination had barely cooled when Johnny Cash called. Phoenix had never sung before. He taught himself guitar and vocals, recorded the whole album live on set, won the Golden Globe, and checked into rehab when filming wrapped. He's said the drinking he took on to understand Johnny Cash got out of hand. The craft has always cost him something.
In the Spotlight
His 2019 Joker won him the Best Actor Oscar and cemented his reputation as the kind of actor directors fight to cast. The 2024 sequel, Joker: Folie a Deux, was a critical and commercial failure. That same year, he walked off a Todd Haynes film five days before cameras rolled. Pedro Pascal replaced him. Peak performances and baffling choices have always run together in his career. Eddington, his 2025 A24 Western with Ari Aster, pulled him back to solid critical ground. The credibility survives because the talent does.
Side Notes
He grew up in the Children of God, a religious cult his parents left in 1977. The family became vegan when Joaquin was three after watching fish killed on a boat. His brother River died outside the Viper Room on October 31, 1993, three days after Joaquin's 19th birthday. He was the one who called 911. In 2006, Werner Herzog happened to drive past and pulled him from an overturned car. He went by 'Leaf' as a child actor, changed back to Joaquin as a teenager. The life has always been stranger than the roles.