Joaquin Phoenix

Acting

Joaquin Phoenix

Born 1974-10-28 · San Juan, Puerto Rico

Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (/hwɑːˈkiːn/ whah-KEEN; né Bottom; October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation and known for his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric characters in independent film, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, an Actor Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, a Volpi Cup, and two Golden Globes. Phoenix began his career by appearing in television series in the early 1980s with his brother River. His first major film roles were in SpaceCamp (1986) and Parenthood (1989). During this period, he was credited as Leaf Phoenix, a name he gave himself. He took back his birth name in the early 1990s and received critical acclaim for his supporting roles in To Die For (1995) and Quills (2000). Phoenix received further critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Commodus in the historical drama Gladiator (2000). He had success with the horror films Signs (2002) and The Village (2004), the historical drama Hotel Rwanda (2004), and won a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of musician Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line (2005). Following a brief sabbatical, Phoenix starred in the psychological drama The Master (2012), winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and earning his third Academy Award nomination. He gained praise for his roles in the romantic drama Her (2013) and the crime satire Inherent Vice (2014), and won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for the psychological thriller You Were Never Really Here (2017). For his performance as the titular character of Joker (2019), Phoenix won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He reprised his role in the 2024 sequel Joker: Folie à Deux. He has since starred in the independent films C'mon C'mon (2021), Beau Is Afraid (2023) and Eddington (2025), and portrayed the title role in the historical drama Napoleon (2023). Outside acting, Phoenix is an animal rights activist. A vegan, he regularly supports charitable causes and has produced several documentaries on global meat consumption and its impact on the environment. Description above from the Wikipedia article Joaquin Phoenix, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

Joker poster
8.1

During the 1980s, a failed stand-up comedian is driven insane and turns to a life of crime and chaos in Gotham City while becoming an infamous psychopathic crime figure.

Joker

2019

Gladiator poster
8.2

After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.

Gladiator

2000

Her poster
7.8

In the not so distant future, Theodore, a lonely writer, purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user's every need. To Theodore's surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system. This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all.

Her

2013

Napoleon poster
6.3

An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.

Napoleon

2023

Brother Bear poster
7.3

When an impulsive boy named Kenai is magically transformed into a bear, he must literally walk in another's footsteps until he learns some valuable life lessons. His courageous and often zany journey introduces him to a forest full of wildlife, including the lovable bear cub Koda, hilarious moose Rutt and Tuke, woolly mammoths and rambunctious rams.

Brother Bear

2003

Eddington poster
6.5

In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.

Eddington

2025

Joker: Folie à Deux poster
5.4

While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur Fleck not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that's always been inside him.

Joker: Folie à Deux

2024

Beau Is Afraid poster
6.7

Following the sudden death of his mother, a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic odyssey back home.

Beau Is Afraid

2023

Signs poster
6.7

A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.

Signs

2002

Hotel Rwanda poster
7.7

Inspired by true events, this film takes place in Rwanda in the 1990s when more than a million Tutsis were killed in a genocide that went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world. Hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina houses over a thousand refuges in his hotel in attempt to save their lives.

Hotel Rwanda

2004

Inherent Vice poster
6.5

In Los Angeles at the turn of the 1970s, drug-fueled detective Larry "Doc" Sportello investigates the disappearance of an ex-girlfriend.

Inherent Vice

2014

You Were Never Really Here poster
6.5

A traumatized veteran, unafraid of violence, tracks down missing girls for a living. When a job spins out of control, Joe's nightmares overtake him as a conspiracy is uncovered—leading to what may be his death trip or his awakening.

You Were Never Really Here

2017

The Village poster
6.5

When a willful young man tries to venture beyond his sequestered Pennsylvania hamlet, his actions set off a chain of chilling incidents that will alter the community forever.

The Village

2004

Walk the Line poster
7.5

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash's life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

Walk the Line

2005

8MM poster
6.5

A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, he relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town PI.

8MM

1999

We Own the Night poster
6.7

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.

We Own the Night

2007

The Master poster
7.1

Freddie, a volatile, heavy-drinking veteran who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new "religion" he forms after World War II.

The Master

2012

The Sisters Brothers poster
6.8

Oregon, 1851. Hermann Kermit Warm, a chemist and aspiring gold prospector, keeps a profitable secret that the Commodore wants to know, so he sends the Sisters brothers, two notorious assassins, to capture him on his way to California.

The Sisters Brothers

2018

The Yards poster
6.3

In the rail yards of Queens, contractors repair and rebuild the city's subway cars. These contracts are lucrative, so graft and corruption are rife. When Leo Handler gets out of prison, he finds his aunt married to Frank Olchin, one of the big contractors; he's battling with a minority-owned firm for contracts.

The Yards

2000

Quills poster
7.2

In early 19th-century France, the Marquis de Sade is confined to an asylum where his forbidden writings continue to circulate beyond its walls. As the authorities tighten control, a clash unfolds between the Marquis’ unyielding imagination, the reformist ideals of the Abbé in charge, and the repressive measures of a doctor sent to silence him. Desire, power, and censorship collide in a battle over freedom of expression.

Quills

2000

To Die For poster
6.6

Suzanne Stone wants to be a world-famous news anchor and she is willing to do anything to get what she wants. What she lacks in intelligence, she makes up for in cold determination and diabolical wiles. As she pursues her goal with relentless focus, she is forced to destroy anything and anyone that may stand in her way, regardless of the ultimate cost or means necessary.

To Die For

1995

U Turn poster
6.6

When a desperate man’s car breaks down in a bizarre desert town while evading vengeful bookies, he becomes entangled in a dangerous love triangle. Caught between a married couple, he’s faced with deadly contracts to kill them both.

U Turn

1997

Ladder 49 poster
6.5

Under the watchful eye of his mentor, Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter Jack Morrison matures into a seasoned veteran at a Baltimore fire station. However, Jack has reached a crossroads as the sacrifices he's made have put him in harm's way innumerable times and significantly impacted his relationship with his wife and kids.

Ladder 49

2004

Two Lovers poster
6.9

A depressed man moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak and finds himself with two women.

Two Lovers

2008

Behind the camera