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Joaquin Phoenix A darkly intense actor, Joaquin Phoenix has spent much of his career overcoming the shadow of his older brother, the late River Phoenix. Finally coming into his own with strong performances in films including 8MM, Inventing The Abbotts, Clay Pigeons, U-Turn, Return To Paradise and To Die For, it's no surprise that Joaquin excels as young men somehow wounded or corrupted by the people around him. Always acting with an edgy vulnerability, he never fails to leave an impression on the big screen. Coming from a now-infamous hippie family, Joaquin began his career as Leaf Phoenix; starting as a child actor in the late '80s in films like Russkies and Space Camp before landing a major role in Parenthood as Dianne Wiest's sexually confused, adolescent son angered with his distant father. "I had a really wonderful upbringing," recalls Joaquin, 26, brother of Rain, Summer and Liberty. "We were a tight family. It was wonderful to grow up with so many siblings. We were all just a year of two apart, and we were always so supportive of each other. I learned everything from my older brother and sister and taught it to my younger sisters," says the actor whose parents John Bottom and Arlyn Dunetz (who later changed her name to Heart), once belonged to the religious cult Children of God. Today he says: "I'm not into the organized religion. It's too fucking weird. But at the same time, I've seen people who were complete fuck-ups who then found God. They go to church, they don't drink, they don't do the nasty drugs, and in some ways, that's great. I mean, you have to do whatever it takes in order to make it through. For me, I believe in a God of whatever my own thing is." While Joaquin was born in Puerto Rico, his parents quit the cult when he was three years old; moving to Los Angeles where they turned to the cult of show business, encouraging all their children to act. In an unfortunate twist of fate, Joaquin only emerged from professional obscurity upon the tragic, sudden death of brother River outside Johnny Depp's notorious Viper Room in 1993. Now calling himself by his birth name, Joaquin, his voice was broadcast all over the country in a 911 call made to police in an attempt to save his brother's life. "I've come nearer to acceptance — I wouldn't say understanding — but more of an acceptance of River's death," he says today. "What was difficult in the beginning was that I felt robbed of my memories. See, a public death is a really difficult thing to go through. The death of someone you really love is difficult enough all on its own. Then, when your memories of what happened are distorted and put out there for public consumption, you just feel so robbed. "Did I look up to River? Absolutely. I'm proud of my brother. I would never not want to be associated with him. River and I would talk about getting old, being in our 50s together. There was just something gorgeous about us being old together. The most incredible thing about River was this — he made everyone that knew him feel like he or she had the most special relationship. He was capable of having these really close, intense, relationships with so many people." Ask Joaquin what lessons he learned from experiencing death so close up, and he's brave enough to admit he almost travelled the same path: "I've experienced that. I've certainly been the guy that hits the bars. "But I'm not in this business for the lifestyle, to get into places and have free drinks," insists Joaquin who is unafraid at the public curiosity generated by his occasional bar crawls with Ben Affleck. "Still, it seems like Hollywood has a particular way of chewing people up and spitting them out. It's hard to know who's responsible. We all have vulnerabilities and sweetness as much as anger. I tap into a variety of those emotions for my roles," says the sensitive young man. His next role is somewhat surprising, starring as a ruthless Roman emperor in Ridley Scott's Roman epic, Gladiator, opposite Russell Crowe, Derek Jacobi and Richard Harris. Next up he co-stars with Charlize Theron, Faye Dunaway and Mark Wahlberg in crime thriller The Yards, and then opposite Kate Winslet and Geoffrey Rush in drama Quills; a sensual tale about the Marquis de Sade. Having enjoyed such beautiful leading ladies as Nicole Kidman and Claire Danes, it was stunning actress Liv Tyler who caught his eye when the couple co-starred in Inventing The Abbotts, although that romance is now history. Reflecting on their break up last year, he says: "Liv and I lived together for three years, but that's over now, and I chose to move out of New York where we'd been living. "I'm a great believer in people coming into your life, and you into theirs, for a reason. And I know that when Liv and I met, it was for a reason — I really needed her and she really needed me. And at a certain point, I think we stopped evolving with each other, stopped progressing, and made a very mature decision to move on, even though there was still a great love there. There's no one gossipy thing that I can share. I'm thankful that we had the time we had. "I seem to wander around without a real residence, but the truth is that I want a steady relationship and home and all that. It just hasn't happened yet." Ask him if he's been dating, he offers only, with a sly look, "I'm young. I've been fabulous," says Joaquin who dated actress Martha Plimpton before Liv. Unashamed at finally hitting the big time, and the big bucks, he says: "It's a great job and you work and it's great. But I do put a lot of work into what I do and it consumes my thoughts for months, and recovering from that is even more terrible. With the work I do, if I feel like I want some materialistic item that's going to make me happier, if I'm going to look forward to driving a convertible on the weekend, if it makes me feel fabulous, then I'll do it. And I'm not going to think, Well, what about someone else? Because I feel better and I've been able to express desires that I have and I feel good, then I'm going to be in the right frame of mind to help someone else out," says the actor who gives generously to charities for homeless people and animal rights — not to mention a recent donation to a midwifery school. "I think that you are allowed to spend the ridiculous amounts of money that you make on bullshit things that don't really matter just because you want to as long as you balance that with giving back, which I think that I do. "I think about my friend who's evicted because he can't pay his rent in his apartment and I just tossed out $500 for a MiniDisc player because I wanted a MiniDisc player so I could record my own music. It's bizarre. I don't know, it's all relative. I don't have the answers. "I don't consider myself as rich, but in comparison to my friend who got evicted, yes, I'm filthy stinking rich, and he thinks If I only had that I'd be set for life. Well, I look at whatever actor and go, 'You son of a bitch, if I got paid that for every fucking movie I ever made, are you kidding? I'd buy a whole city block and set up housing for, you know, whatever.' So, it's all relative. "Right now, I'm establishing a comfortable home for myself and my family and for my nephew and for whatever groups I can donate to to help them out, to keep them alive. I'll do that as much as it is realistic. I think that you try the best that you can, but we're all selfish, we all want something fabulous for ourselves and want to make it. I know people that are like, 'I would never do one of those Japanese commercials for a million dollars, two million dollars.' Screw you. Goddamn right I'll do a commercial for two million dollars. Are you high? I'll do it for two million dollars and then what am I going to do tomorrow? I'm going to do something good with that money. That's how I see it. "When you become satisfied, you stop fighting, and I like fighting. It means that I'm constantly progressing and evolving. I'm never satisfied, and hopefully, I never will be." Known for his eccentricities, Joaquin wears a habitual uniform of dark sunglasses, dark clothing, a lit cigarette and sneakers, hoping to blend into the background since being spotted in public brings on an attack of manic energy, making him rock and sway, bursting into song or tossing out a stream of expletives. The sneakers he wears on moral principle. A strict vegan, he doesn't eat meat or dairy or wear leather. Raising chickens and cows is "a form of slavery," he insists. He swears he can vividly remember the day of this third birthday, aboard a freight ship hauling Tonka toys from Venezuela to Florida. "The crew started pulling up nets with just thousands of fish and they'd be flopping on the deck. In order to kill them, they just threw them against the wall, which was utterly shocking." While he admits he still has a lot of growing up to do, Joaquin is certain of one thing — that he would like to become a father one day. A decision cemented having watched his sister Liberty Phoenix give birth two years ago to a son she named Rio, which was River's nickname. "He's gorgeous," he enthuses. "Curls, and he's beautiful bronze. He's half Costa Rican. His daddy is Costa Rican and he's just, ahhhh, so, gorgeous." Although Joaquin's parents have divorced, the entire family gathered to watch Rio's home birth, and Joaquin himself snipped the umbilical cord. "I love that image of a father — a mom and dad — someone who's really a parent. My dad holding me at different times, I love that! And I love the strength and the wisdom and the years on one face. It's just gorgeous! But I'd be too selfish right now to have such a huge responsibility, and I just don't know where it's all going. I don't think I'm terribly optimistic about the future of the world. So I'm a little frightened." |