Joaquin Phoenix has lived via so much. Perhaps that is a part of what makes him so adept at embodying characters in weird conditions and in moments of disaster — and few onscreen characters have ever suffered via so many crises, so rapidly, as Joaquin’s character in Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid,” which premieres on April 21.
In the movie, Joaquin performs the title character, Beau, a middle-aged man seemingly trapped in a perpetual adolescence. We instantly be taught he has a fancy relationship along with his mom and that he lives in a horrifically derelict residence constructing. But after he misses a flight to see his mom as a result of somebody stole his keys and suitcase, the world as he is aware of it begins to break down. First his constructing is overtaken by criminals, after which he learns his mom’s head was crushed by a lamp — and the horror solely escalates from there.
Joaquin’s efficiency ties the entire madcap journey collectively, and he performs the damaged, hypersensitive, and traumatized Beau expertly. Beau is way from his first spectacular efficiency, in fact; he is been nominated for 4 Oscars, and took dwelling greatest actor for his function in Joker (2019). But “Beau Is Afraid” could also be one among his most rigorous and spectacular performances but. In some ways, whereas removed from a typical movie, “Beau Is Afraid” could also be a typical Joaquin Phoenix challenge — one thing that, with its nonlinearity and underlying sense of random chaos, appears nearly as absurd as actual life can generally be.
Joaquin’s journey from childhood to Hollywood celebrity has actually been a labyrinthine one. Joaquin was born on Oct. 28, 1974, and spent his earliest years in a cult referred to as Children of God, per Britannica. He spent his childhood touring round South America along with his dad and mom, spreading the cult’s disturbing gospel, which included a heavy emphasis on intercourse, even for kids, per LA Weekly. He and his brothers, River and Rain, additionally spent a few of their childhoods begging for money and meals on the streets.
In 2014, the star defined that regardless of the trauma he endured, he does not blame his dad and mom for what occurred. “I feel my dad and mom thought they’d discovered a group that shared their beliefs,” he informed Playboy Interview, per Entertainment Tonight. “Cults hardly ever promote themselves as such. It’s often somebody saying, ‘We’re like-minded folks. This is a group,’ however I feel the second my dad and mom realized there was one thing extra to it, they obtained out.”
In 1977, the household left the cult and moved to Southern California, altering their final names from Bottom to Phoenix — a reputation that they adopted to represent their rebirth, per Digital Spy. To assist the household, River and Joaquin — who had adopted the identify Leaf on the time — started appearing. They each netted some roles, and River’s profession quickly took off with performances in “Stand by Me,” “My Own Private Idaho,” and others.
But on Oct. 31, 1993, 23-year-old River died on the Viper Room in Los Angeles when a pal handed him a drink containing a dissolved speedball, which is a drug containing a stimulant like cocaine and a depressant like heroin. Joaquin, then 19, was with River on the time, however by the point he referred to as 911 it was too late, in keeping with Vanity Fair.
The grieving course of was made tougher by intense media scrutiny, Joaquin later revealed. “We have been so faraway from sort of the leisure world. We did not watch leisure exhibits. We did not have the leisure magazines in our home,” Joaquin informed Anderson Cooper in 2020. “River was a extremely substantial actor and film star, and we did not actually realize it. And so throughout that point through which you are most weak, there are helicopters flying over. There are folks which are attempting to sneak onto your land. Certainly, for me, it felt prefer it impeded on the mourning course of, proper?”
Joaquin continued to behave after his brother’s loss of life, and broke via with Roman emperor Commodus in “Gladiator” (2000). His star continued to rise with roles as Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line” (2005) and “We Own the Night” (2007). In 2008, although, Joaquin introduced he was retiring from appearing to pursue a hip-hop profession. He later was the topic of Casey Affleck‘s documentary “I’m Still Here” (2010), which he later revealed was a scripted mockumentary, not an precise documentation of his life.
Joaquin quickly formally returned to appearing with a efficiency in “The Master” (2012), taking part in an alcoholic character loosely primarily based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, and went on to star in “Her” (2013) and quite a few different main titles. In 2019, he took on the function of the Joker, profitable greatest actor for his efficiency, and he is set to reprise the function in “Joker 2: Folie à Deux” alongside Lady Gaga. He and fiancée Rooney Mara additionally welcomed a toddler, named River Lee Phoenix, in 2020.
Ahead, see extra photographs of the star over time.