Starstyle januari/februari 2003 Joaquin Phoenix Hunk with harelip

When his brother died before his eyes, the world stopped for a moment. Now 10 years later, his more famous then his brother. Joaquin Phoenix. Insecure till the bone, but as soon as the cameras start rolling you can't notice that anymore. With a look that say Thunder, plays he all the competition easely from the screen.

Who meets Joaquin (pronounced Waa-kien) Phoenix in normal live, barely will recognise him. T-shirt, black pants, bitten fingernales & hair that is like Bami glewed on his head. His sour body odour mixed up with fumes of several Marlboro-light cigarettes gets up into your nose & stayes there for the next few hours. He is casual. He doesn't give a shit about it. "I'm inherently a blubbering slob, I'm like a shaved hamster.", mumbles the 'in his own Brando like way' actor. "So what? I don't need to become a famous star. My work as an actor is forever & that is what inspires me. The fame that goes with it isn't important. I hate the pressure to have to look constantly good!' Airplane companies aren't quick to get this idealic skunk onto their planes. 'Every one always think I don't belong to first class', sniffs he ' they always ask me to see my boarding pass. And nobody wants to sit next to me. They look at me & then at their boarding ticket & then make some story up so that they can sit somewhere else.' His best friend & fellow actor Casey Affleck (brother from Ben Affleck & boyfriend of Joaquin's sister Summer) don't think it is that weird. "I've been on planes with him, and I don't want to look at him, either. Because he sits down and drinks ten shots of whatever he can find and pulls his shirt over his head and stays like that for the rest of the flight."

Scared Rabbit

The reason for this behavour of Phoenix? He is scared of flying. Scared to death. Every bad looking weather manifests as a sort of airborne Tourette's syndrome.  Not in control he shouts then: causing him to scream out, "Just land the bird, motherf---er!" or some such thing. During a difficult landing at the airport LAX trows a hyperventilating Joaquin himself crying onto an 80 year old priest who was sitting next to him. And some years ago he made the other passengers extremely nervous when he was squealing and biting pillows. The pilot had to come to calm the histeric Joaquin down. But it is better now. With Joaquin becoming more famous, the foreighn trips increases & also the getting used to flying. Although his secret is in his lucky Toucan-decorated boxer shorts The friendly caveman who gave it to him said it that it bring luck. Joaquin never enters a plane without it. One problem: "But now they're completely worn out, like, elastic waist and nothing but fringe on the sides, no rear end….I don't know if it would work for me to buy another pair. That's not the way karma works. Or does it?" Maybe he better can ask this question to his hippie parents. Although....the reason that his mother gave for his scar that is on Joaquin his upperlip is unbelievable. The uneven smile, who together with his green eyes & black hair are sinister, but they also gave him this unresistable signature, could it be an intervention from above? "During the pregnancy his mother she was in a hammock on the beach and she got these intense pains.   felt as if some force, God or whatever, had caused this.A few weeks later she takes me to the doctor, he sees me and says, "Who did this harelip operation? That's the best operation I've ever seen." Mom said, "No one. He wasn't born with a harelip." I was just born with the scar." Right & our name for it is harelip.

Travelling hippies

The date when this eight wonder of the world was born in Puerto Rico is 28 october 1974. Joaquin Raphael Phoenix is after his brother River & sister Rain the third child of John and Arlyn (she changed her name in Heart later, how cute) Bottom. Two american hippies who were member of The Children Of God. They change their name to Phoenix to symbolise their reborn. Through 5 years this family (who some might say are alike The Kelly Family) traveled around, later with also babies missionaries Liberty & Summer, throughout South-America to bring the message of God. But when they discover that their messias David 'Moses' Berg also has a rule in his bible recreative sex between cultmembers from all ages, (River told ones that he had lost his virginity at the age of 4) they leave very disappointed their tambourine hanging in the willow. Without money they hide on a fisherboat back to Florida. Of course the get cought during the trip, but because it was Joaquin his birthday, the crew baked him a huge cake and they can travel along without any problems. But the feeling about those fishermen didn't stay the same. "The same people who were so nice to us were smacking hundreds of fish against the walls to kill them." Joaquin was disgusted by this agressive way. It changed his life. Like the other members of the Phoenix Clan, is he till this day a  devoted vegan. that means: no meat, no fish, no animal or dairy products. The healthy freak takes even his own juicer along with him. So he can after smoking another cigarettemachine empty, get a compensation juice for himself. But Joaquin even takes it a step further. For one of the rare photoshoots for Prada that he did recently, did he refuses to wear the leather Prada shoes. Prada or not, they had to shoot the shoes on the stylist his feet. Oh yeah, and he doesn't like fur.  "I think you're a fucking asshole if you wear fur." he was brought up with a strong 'do the right thing'. Father and mother Phoenix, who gave their children mostly an education at home, express themselve sartistic was high on the list. "My parents are great. We all used to sing and play music, and we were all very outgoing." Mother Heart sees their talent as a gift for the world. After moving for the 666 time, this time to L.A., did she become a true showbizz mum. A new-age one though. When she gets her kids into an agency, the mother hen with the golden eggs forbid them to do commercials for Coca-Cola, Mac Donalds, milk and meat. "My agent said: They just start and you tell me that 80% of the work they can't do? then their isn't much left to do." It turns out ok. With River leading, the 5 little chicks quick spread their creative wings. When he is only eight Joaquin gets a role in a Action figure Masters Of The Universe commercial. It is about Skeletor, the really thin version, enemy of He-Man, furboxershort wearing of the year 1983. "I was reading the manyscirpt & trying to understand it. I had these questions like: 'Why does Skeleton has pain?' I want him to ne happy hahahaha." It shows Joaquin the way we gonna get to know him. Fascinated by evil characters "Those are more interested" but always looking for the human tragic behind them. "Their is a devil & an angel in all of us. I believe in yin & yang, the two faces of the human being."

Testosterone Timebomb

One of Joaquin first acting jobs is an episode in Seven Brides For Seven Borthers. "River played already in that serie and when they were searching for some guests to appear in the serie,my sister and me were asked. I think that you find in a very tight family, where the siblings are close emotionally and in age, that you just tend to follow in the footsteps of your older siblings. You just adopt what the others are doing even if it's listening to music or skateboarding or whatever." River and him also worked together in the TV movie (who doesn't have good memories off that?) Backwards: The Riddle Of Dyslexia. The years after that the excentric kidstar played solo in TV series/movies like Fall Guy, Spacecamp and Russkies. Positive exception is Parenthood from 1989. As sexual confussed teenager Garry, he has this brown bag of porn throughout the whole movie with him. The critici are impressed. River isn't the only wonderchild in the family. At the end of the movie it also says Leaf instead of Joaquin Phoenix. The actor changed his name at the age of four so that he was more 'back to nature' happening theme that his other siblings had. This name comes to him when he is raking leaves. But 'Leaf' had some surprises. When he is fifteen, he changes as a leaf on a tree. He is the teenagerpulp tired and he leaves with his dad (his parents are divorced) for a five year sabbat to Mexico. he goes there to work on some engines and for the girls. Leaf changes into a Testosterone Timebomb who needs to get exploded. A usefull chiqua helps him with this and he comes back as a man of the world in the beginning of the 90's. On advice of his brother River who thinks that the name Joaquin sounds beautiful, changes Joaquin his name back. Mr. Phoenix is ready for a comeback. Unfortunat he comes back sooner then he expected. On 31 october 1993 (halloween, ironic enough) is Joaquin with his world famous brother River after an evening out on the sidewalk of Johnny depp Viper Room when River collapse because of an overdose. He had taken a coctail of cocaïne and heroïne. It is a painfull subject he doesn't like to talk about it. "I've come nearer acceptance, I wouldn't say understanding, because it's something I'll never understand, but just an acceptance of River's death."

Media-Allergic

Radio and media are playing Joaquin 911 telephone call, while River has collapsed. They play it over and over again, his panic voice can be heard by every sensational listener. Joaquin gets a gigantic dislike for everything that has to do with media. Even now 10 years after it happened he still doesn't trust journalists. After a year of mourning Joaquin gets his revanche. He rises as a Phoenix out of the ashes with the succes movie To Die For. A satire on the media hype of the 90's. In return for some oral talent of the ambitious weathergirl Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman), does his low-life character jimmy kill her husband. The critics are great. "Suddenly I realist how much I like this being an actor. There is nothing better then acting. It is the biggest high feeling that you can think of."  Inventing The Abbotts from 1997 has been great for him personal. He met Liv Tyler that way and the fall in love. The glamour couple stays together for three years. Liv is one of the few women who Joaquin approached himself.  "I never dared to ask anyone who I didn't know. Luckely I had sisters, so I usual dated their friends." After the friendly break-up with Liv was he a long time alone and his his righthand his best friend.  Now he is dating the South-African Topaz. The details about her? "No comment."

Human battering ram

It is kinda weird that this actor, with the look of the little of nephew of satan, is insecure in real life. On profesional level he doesn't fear any taboo. If it is about disgusting creepy characthers, Joaquin is there. In Quills he has naughty necrofiel dream problems. 8mm is about snuff-movies and in Gladiator he goes through all seven deadly sins with out a problem. His part as fat Roman emperor who killes his own father and has a crush on his sister got deserved an oscar nominee. Quills-costar Kate Winslet: "He's one of the strongest actors of my generation. But if you said that to him, he'd virtually throw up in your face. He cannot stand being paid complements." Joaquin: "I think I was born nervously. I'm vomiting days before we start shooting." The grand of Gladiator made Joaquin so scared, that his co-star Russell Crowe had to calm him down with an australian recept: beer. He got Joaquin drunk one night. Some kind of male-bonding. Maybe it is also because he has been several times second chose for a movie. "With every role they have some doubs if I can do it, but afterwards everyone says " You were the perfect one for the role (sarcastic)" But it doesn't bother me, it just makes me work harder." He doesn't like rehearsels. "I hate rehearsing. I can't rehearse. But when you roll that camera, there's something about it, it's magic. I'm gone and can't be held accountable. I'm a maniac for work."  Regisseurs love his 'getting into the character' way a lot. Although sometimes they are worried. On the set of The Yards, Joaquin bangs his head hard against a wooden door, as preparation for a scene. "When I am acting I feel pain" and how. Ouch! Those three movie totally worn Joaquin out. He went to bed for some weeks at his mother's place and his mom fed him tofu sandwiches. (hmmmm....). Sister Summer finds it time that he is gonna play some other characters then tortured characters. "Joaquin was the family clown! Someday everyone will see what a difference there is between the way he is and the way people think he is." Signs co-star Mel Gibson did already get a sneak-preview,. Mel, famous for his practical jokes, find unexpected an equal in Joaquin. Mel: "Joaquin had this scene in a closet. So I turned all the lights out & everyone left the set. He knew what I was doing so he stayed in the closet as long till everyone came back. He just won!" Really funny must be home-video from when a crying Joaquin got a circel, no meaning "It's just a circle. I got it to represent nothing because I hate the idea of people having a symbol of wisdom or love in Gaelic on their bodies." tattoo on his upperarm. I doubt it if we ever gonna see that tape. "I'm, like, pathetic. I'm crying like a little girl. No, I ain't no fan of myself!" You don't have to, dear Joaquin,. We will take care of that.... 

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