16 Facts You Didn't Know About Joaquin Phoenix, Hollywood's Reclusive Genius
Vote for the most surprising things you didn't know about Joaquin Phoenix.
There are certainly plenty of eccentric actors in Hollywood. But few match the sheer wackiness of Joaquin Phoenix.
In reality, there are a plethora of wild Joaquin Phoenix stories. Perhaps none of which are more bizarre than the time he gave up several years of his acting career to make a “documentary” that featured his dramatic turn from Academy Award-nominated actor to wannabe rapper. During the span of the doc’s two years of filming, Phoenix had to publicly stay in character and could not even tell his friends that his performance was just a ruse.
Despite all the wild Joaquin Phoenix exploits, there’s no denying the actor’s incredible talent. In fact, the Joker actor's talent may be why he can be among the highest-ranking of all Hollywood weirdos and still get cast by the industry’s top directors. Read all about the childhood prodigy turned A-list actor in the list below, then check out our Joaquin Phoenix movies list.
- 1
His Last Name Is Symbolic
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After Joaquin's parents, Arlyn and John Bottom, left the Children of God, they fled to Los Angeles. They wanted to celebrate leaving the Christian sect and thought that their escape was like rising from the ashes. In order to symbolize how they felt, they changed their last name and their children's last name from Bottom to Phoenix.
The mythical bird is the symbol for resurrection from the ashes, and it serves as a symbol of the Bottom-Phoenix's new life outside the Children of God.
Interesting fact? - 2
Phoenix Never Sang Before He Starred In Walk The Line
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If you close your eyes and listen to the soundtrack for the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, you may think that it's actually Cash himself singing the songs. However, Joaquin Phoenix sang every single note in the movie despite never having sung at all. The actor also did his own guitar playing.
When asked if he was surprised that he could mimic Cash's famous baritone voice, Phoenix replied, "I was surprised just to get through a song! I never sang before, but if I had tried to sing along to something it was to John Lennon and David Bowie, who both sing quite high." He continued, "So to suddenly go to John was so odd to me. It was very strange to have to use a part of my voice that I didn't know existed."
Famed film critic Roger Ebert wrote of Phoenix's performance: "Knowing Johnny Cash's albums more or less by heart, I closed my eyes to focus on the soundtrack and decided that, yes, that was the voice of Johnny Cash I was listening to. The closing credits make it clear it's Joaquin Phoenix doing the singing, and I was gob-smacked."
Interesting fact? - 3
Werner Herzog May Have Saved His Life
- Photo:
- Nicogenin
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY-SA 2.0
In 2006, the Gladiator actor overturned his car while driving on a windy road in Hollywood. Then, just like out of some kind of movie, legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog, who has a home in the area, happened to be driving by and rescued Joaquin from the wreckage. Phoenix lay disoriented inside the flipped vehicle when he heard a tap on the window.
"There was this German voice saying 'Just relax'," recalled Phoenix. Herzog then helped Phoenix out of the car. "There's something so calming and beautiful about Werner Herzog's voice," Phoenix said. "I felt completely fine and safe."
Of course, Herzog is a bit of an eccentric himself. He took off the second he realized that Joaquin was okay. "I got out of the car and I said thank you," Phoenix said. "And he was gone."
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- 4
He Went By The Name Leaf For Over A Decade
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In 1978, Joaquin changed his name to Leaf because he was irritated that people could not properly pronounce his name and because his four siblings had nature related names. "I changed my name because no one in the States could pronounce 'Joaquin' and I used to get really embarrassed about it as a kid. All kids in my family had gorgeous names and I got 'Joaquin'. I said 'This is not good.' Even I can't say it."
He kept the name Leaf until 1991 when, after filming Walking the Dog, he changed his name back to Joaquin. It was also during that same time that he took a break from acting. While still known as “Leaf,” he played a big role in an episode of Murder, She Wrote, was one of the elads in Space Camp, and even explored adolescent angst in Parenthood, in which his character finds some solace in fuzzy philosophy from a young Keanu Reeves.
Interesting fact? - 5
He Placed The 911 Call When His Brother River Suffered A Lethal Overdose
Both Joaquin and his sister Rain were present at Johnny Depp's Los Angeles nightclub, The Viper Room, on the evening that their brother River died from an overdose in 1993. The talented 23-year-old actor had apparently fallen into a dangerous substance use routine.
On that fateful night, it would be Joaquin who placed the chilling 911 call.
Interesting fact? - 6
He Thinks Acting Awards Are Total Bullsh*t
- Photo:
- Tony Shek
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC BY 2.0
The Signs actor had been nominated for multiple Academy Awards before taking home the hardware for his Joker performance.
But acting awards are not very important to Phoenix, who compares them to a terrible tasting carrot:
I think it's total, utter bullshit, and I don't want to be a part of it. I don't believe in it. It's a carrot, but it's the worst-tasting carrot I've ever tasted in my whole life. I don't want this carrot. It's totally subjective. Pitting people against each other... It's the stupidest thing in the whole world. It was one of the most uncomfortable periods of my life when Walk the Line was going through all the awards stuff and all that. I never want to have that experience again. I don't know how to explain it - and it's not like I'm in this place where I think I'm just above it - but I just don't ever want to get comfortable with that part of things.
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