Joaquin Phoenix

Outsiders and unstable characters are the métier of the excellent “Joker” actor

Joaquin Phoenix has been the talk of the town ever since his role as the “Joker”. Ambivalent and unpredictable characters, often in sad outsider positions, are the exceptional actor's métier, whereby he can so quickly lend his face something slightly enraptured, even cruel: Whether as the Roman emperor Commodus in Ridley Scott's “Gladiator”, as a dangerously instrumentalized lover in “To Die For” (Direction: Gus van Sant) or recently in his embodiment of the general “Napoleon”. On the other hand, Phoenix, whose beautifully cut face is broken by a scar from mouth to nose, often plays male characters whose insecurity and vulnerability tend towards mental instability. In “Her”, his professional letter writer Theodore Twombly falls in love with the computer voice Samantha. In “The Master”, he is the obedient disciple of a charismatic intellectual inspired by Scientology founder L. Ron. Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. In “Two Lovers”, his depressive character longs for the lively, vibrant, long-lost neighbor, while his title (anti)hero completely loses touch with reality in “Beau is afraid”. The Oscar and Golden Globe winner's characters are driven by the desire for something unattainable and the agony of not really belonging. In 1993, Phoenix himself had to mourn the loss of his older brother River, who died of a drug overdose, at an early age. In his private life, the US star, who has been vegan since the age of three, is a climate and animal rights activist together with his partner, actress Rooney Mara.

On the other hand, Phoenix, whose beautifully cut face is broken by a scar from mouth to nose, often plays male characters whose insecurity and vulnerability tend towards mental instability. In “Her”, his professional letter writer Theodore Twombly falls in love with the computer voice Samantha. In “The Master”, he is the obedient disciple of a charismatic intellectual inspired by Scientology founder L. Ron. Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. In “Two Lovers”, his depressive character longs for the lively, vibrant, long-lost neighbor, while his title (anti)hero completely loses touch with reality in “Beau is afraid”.

The Oscar and Golden Globe winner's characters are driven by the desire for something unattainable and the agony of not really belonging. In 1993, Phoenix himself had to mourn the loss of his older brother River, who died of a drug overdose, at an early age. In his private life, the US star, who has been vegan since the age of three, is a climate and animal rights activist together with his partner, actress Rooney Mara.

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