Joaquin Phoenix changed his name to Leaf as a child to fit in with his siblings' 'earthy' names.
Joaquin's sisters Summer and Rain are actors. His older brother River had amassed an impressive resume prior to his death of a drug overdose in Los Angeles in 1993.
Nov. 2005 - Joaquin Phoenix (Johnny Cash in "Walk the Line") began his acting career as a small child. He has since demonstrated to audiences all over the world his ability to portray very diverse characters. In 1986, at age ten, he appeared in "Spacecamp" and in 1987, he starred in "Russkies" with sister Summer and Carole King. In 1989, he landed the role of Dianne Weist’s teenage son in the Ron Howard directed film "Parenthood."
In 1995, after taking a long hiatus from making films, Phoenix gave a critically-acclaimed performance in Gus Van Sant’s "To Die For." New York Times film critic Janet Maslin hailed the young man as “an actor to watch for.” He followed that film by co-starring with Liv Tyler, Billy Crudup and Jennifer Connelly in "Inventing the Abbotts" in 1997. Also in 1997 he co-starred in Oliver Stone’s "U-Turn." Working non-stop, the actor starred in two films in 1998, "Return to Paradise" and "Clay Pigeons" with Vince Vaughn. The following year he starred opposite Nicolas Cage in "8MM."
The year 2000 was a banner one for Joaquin. He co-starred opposite Russell Crowe as Commodus in "Gladiator" for director Ridley Scott, receiving honors from the National Board of Review, The Broadcast Films Critics Award, and a Blockbuster Award. He was also nominated for an Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe. That same year he starred opposite Mark Wahlberg and James Caan in "The Yards."
He next appeared in "Quills," based on Douglas Wright’s Obie Award-winning play about the Marquis deSade. Additional film credits include Thomas Vinterberg’s "It’s All About Love" and Gregor Jordan’s "Buffalo Soldiers." Phoenix was cast opposite Mel Gibson in the M. Night Shymalan film "Signs" and the following year became the voice of Kenai in the Disney animated film "Brother Bear." M. Night Shymalan cast Joaquin once again in the box office hit "The Village" which was released in July 2004. Also released in 2004 was "Ladder 49" which won him further critical acclaim.
