INSTYLE 2002         PICTURE HERE

Introduction:

Before the interview my collague gives me an advice:
"Don´t you ever start talking about Rivers death ! He´ll get aggressive and
leave the room right away!"
In the characters he plays you can see that the pain is still deep inside him
and emotional limits are generally not unknown in his nature.
Phoenix seems to be determined by sorrow and rage which remind people of
young Marlon Brando - a kind of Anti Star.
As the 28 years old actor enters the Interview suite in tattered jeans and
Biker Boots his Anti haircut is more conspicious - wild as if he had a bird
nest on his head.

Q: Sorry but what happened to your hair ?
JP: What´s going on up there ? ( Joaquin gets up, goes to the next mirror and
screams )
This looks a sight ! How embarrassing ! Well, I don´t look after my hair in
my free time because during the shootings people fumble in them for weeks...
But it doesn´t matter to me...I feel fabulous inside and that´s what counts.
( Joaquin grins mischievously, tries to arrange his hairstyle but makes it
even worse..)

Q: Your appearance doesn´t seem to be alike to you. After all you used to be
a Model for Prada!
JP: To be honest I didn´t know what I was doing. I just wanted to show
another side of me. A little trick for my career because at that time I only
got juvenile Outsider roles.
In the moment my suit and gel hair pictures were published I was really
offered more matured characters.

Q: Well, since "Gladiator" you don´t need those tricks anymore. Have you
already get used to this glory ?
JP: Which glory ? When people speak to me on the street at all, they believe
me to be Vincent Gallo, Tobey Maguire or Wes Bentley from "American Beauty".
And of course it´s my pleasure to sign autographs in the names of my
colleagues ( laughing ).

Q: Would you rather like more glory ?
JP: I´d like it as much as a heart attack. Really, this affectation about
glory and stuff is one Bullshit - Mythos. I personally don´t know any serious
actor who puts value on popularity.
For me the most important thing is to do the best work I´m able to.That means
if I´m coming home from a movie and don´t break down because of exhaustion
something went wrong...

Q: Regisseurs say you hit your head against the walls or lock yourself up for
hours to prepare for a scene...
JP: Lock up ? Who says that ( grinning ) ? At best I hide to concentrate.
But it´s true. Sometimes I´m obsessed and a little ardous to handle.

Q: You´ve been standing in front of the camera since your childhood. Do you
remember why you wanted to become an actor ?
JP: Because I was such a miserable painter and author

Q: Okay..now the serious answer...
JP: My brother River worked in a TV Show and two roles for kids had to be
replaced in short - term.So my sister and me helped out. I had my first real
job in the age of 19 playing in "To die for" with Nicole Kidman.

Q: You changed your name from Joaquin to Leaf and later back. So your parents
were not against it letting you make those kind of decisions ?
JP: No, they always ecouraged us to free thoughts and creativity. It would
probably have been a problem for them if I had chosen a common name like Peter
or Paul.

Q: Your parents were Hippies. Do you believe you were raised happier than
kids who were educated by middle - class ?
JP: One Moment ! Why do you call them Hippies ? Have my parents been lazy
just hanging around and smoking joints all day? Hell, no ! But were they
looking for a lifestyle to enable freedom and artistic expression while raising
5 kids at the same time without much money ?
Yes! This were and are my parents ! And I don´t like them to be put in this
cliche box !

Q: Can a young man rebel against his parents who already refuse social norm ?
JP: My personal rebellion ended up woefully going on a journey for a while
and just trying to lose my virginity. But in general I do support rebellion.

Q: Rebellion against what ?
JP: Like Marlon Brando said: against everything that is offered. Our system
need a little turmoil.

Q: Which values are still important to you ?
JP. Sense for family and philanthropy...that I might talk to homeless on the
street instead of walking by and never want to lose people I once became fond
of...

Q: Is your ex-girlfriend Liv Tyler considered ?
 JP: Sure.We had 3 good, wild years and now we see each other regularly being
good friends

Q: Do you have a relationship at the moment ?
JP: No. Or yes ? I can´t remember ( grinning again )! Let´s say, being an
actor I´m so schizophrenic that in case of emergency I always have someone by
my side to be intimate with

Q: An Oscar nominee, Compliments everywhere...you surely have a lot of
Groupies around you..
JP: I nearly get sick getting too much praise. A little is welcome. But I get
suspicious if there´s too much of it. I swear, I´m incomprehensibly unsure!

Q: So you would like to be more self - confident ?
JP: A part of me is screaming "YES!" but deep inside I suggest that the risk
of failure encourages and stimulates me. There you can see how schizophrenic I
really am!

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