During his childhood, the actor sought life on the street. His parents belonged to a sect that promoted incest
Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara, protagonists of 'Her', commit after three years together
The role of Joaquin Phoenix (44) in the Joker has been praised by critics and many have considered it as the role of his life. His scar on his upper lip is one of his most personal stamps. And his interpretive skills place him as one of the great actors of the moment and a faithful candidate to head the list of Oscar nominees. His ability to get into the skin of the mentally ill is one of the attributes that has always accompanied his successful career. A gift that possibly has to do with a personal story full of traumas. Because under the haunting smile of the supervillain who embodies a man with a complicated past hides.
Born on October 28, 1974 in Puerto Rico, the first years of Joaquin Rafael Bottom were somewhat nomadic, since his parents, Arlyn and John, were members of a group of missionaries and staunch followers of the Children of God sect . The Phoenix spent much of the 1960s traveling half the world. In Venezuela it was where the increasingly sinister practices of worship began to disenchant Joaquin's parents. For example, one of the main characteristics of Children of God was to incite sexual activity in children up to three years of age and also promote incest. Although Joaquín has never talked about abuse , his older brother, River, openly told that he had his first sexual contact with only four years.
When they realized what was really happening in the sect, the Phoenix, whose last name was then Bottom, abandoned the cult, without money and waiting for their fifth child, Summer. They moved to the United States and changed their last name from Bottom to Phoenix. The couple's children made a living playing music in the streets to pay the rent until their mother got a decent job as secretary of an NBC casting agent . Arlyn took advantage of his position to take his son to all the youth castings that took place in the city of stars. A decision that worked. Phoenix's talent seduced the film industry.
Before his rise to the top, his brother had already achieved his first role on the small screen in the television show Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. He had also starred in renowned films such as Count Me or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade .
Joaquín's first important film opportunity would not come until 1989 with the movie Parenthood . The film was a success, and the role of Phoenix received several awards. But just when the interpreter was going to follow his brother's successful steps, another tragedy struck his family that prevented him from acting for almost two years.
The events took place on Halloween night of 1993. Joaquin Phoenix was at the Hollywood Viper Room nightclub when his brother River suffered an overdose. Joaquin was precisely who called 911 while his sister Rain tried to revive River with CPR. River died later in the hospital. A trauma that has haunted him throughout his life. Joaquin was only 19 years old; his brother had turned 23 recently. After this blow, he left the interpretation to later return to his first name, Joaquín, instead of Leaf and began a new career. The circus that was mounted around the death of his brother caused a feeling of rejection towards Hollywood and the press.
Currently, Phoenix is a vegan activist. The interpreter, like his brothers, declared himself a few years ago publicly vegan. The actor does not consume anything that comes from the animal world. In fact, in the movie Gladiator imposed by contract that the costumes used for filming were made with synthetic fabrics and without any element from animals.
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