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Another Phoenix On The Rise The kindest thing Joaquin Phoenix's parents did for their children was to change their surname from Bottom. Bottom, whether in singular or plural form, is not a good name for an actor — whatever happened to Joseph and Timothy Bottoms? To be called Joaquin Bottom would have been a handicap, while River Bottom, Rain Bottom, Liberty Bottom and Summer Bottom would have stood no chance. The senior Phoenixes, formerly known as Bottom, were unreconstructed hippies, college dropouts, itinerant fruit pickers and disciples of a cult called the Children of God. But, until divorce split them, they were clearly good and loving, if impoverished, parents who imbued their children with self-confidence and freedom of expression. Little wonder, then, that all five became actors. Initially, until his death of a drug overdose at the age of 23 in 1993, River was the star of the family. His sisters had not made much of a mark and at that time, Joaquin, four years younger, had temporarily given up acting after a brief career under the name of Leaf Phoenix. But any idea that the family's talent had died with River was disabused in 1995 when, having reverted to his given name, Joaquin gave an eye-catching performance as the teenage seduced by Nicole Kidman into murdering her husband in To Die For. Overnight success? No, not yet, for only at the turn of the millennium did it become clear that Joaquin Phoenix might not only equal his ill-fated brother's achievements but, granted luck and good health, surpass them. In 2000 he gave three remarkable, and remarkably different, performances. In The Yards he was Willie, the suave, cocky and duplicitous friend who leads released convict Mark Wahlberg back into a life of crime. In Gladiator, as the villainous emperor Commodus, he nearly stole the film from the Oscar-winning Russell Crowe and in Quills he was the priest in charge of the lunatic asylum where the Marquis de Sade was held; a man of God struggling with his carnal desire for Kate Winslet. For Gladiator, he was Oscar-nominated as best supporting actor, thus emulating River, who had been similarly nominated for Running On Empty in 1989, and making them the only brothers to share that distinction. Joaquin Phoenix claims to be an instinctive actor, which perhaps explains why he can turn in such a variety of performances. Instead of approaching each part with the same bag of tricks, he tries to burrow into the character he plays, seeking what he calls an "epiphany" to give him a handle on the role. One of his greatest strengths — and this, too, probably stems from instinct rather than method — is the ability to portray emotion. This may not seem so unusual. Surely it's what acting is about? Well, yes, except that even some of the biggest stars need dialogue to help the audience understand what they are feeling. Phoenix does not. Whatever emotion has him in its grip — anger, lust, fear and, especially, a sense of vulnerability — it is clearly visible, though never exaggeratedly so, on his face and in his eyes. He thrives, apparently, on opposition. Miramax wanted him to play not Willie but the Wahlberg role in The Yards and he had to fight his corner strenuously, and when he was up for Commodus, "you wouldn't believe the resistance I met" — though he doesn't say from whom. Not that, given the way things are shaping, he's likely to encounter too much opposition in the future. Later this year he will be seen with Mel Gibson in a sci-fi thriller, Signs, and he is currently making a comedy, Voltage, for Robert Altman. If either of these is halfway good, the strong indications are that, still only 27, he will soon assume the mantle of stardom that brother River never grew old enough to wear. |