He is also known as Leaf Phoenix. He was born and raised for a time in Puerto Rico, until his family moved to California, where he began a career as a child actor. He is from a family of performers, most notably his brother, the late actor River Phoenix.

He often plays supporting roles as conflicted, insecure characters with a dark side. He has stated on numerous occasions that he has never watched any of his performances on screen.

Phoenix is of mixed heritage, as his father, John Lee Bottom, is of Irish and Spanish descent, while his mother, Arlyn Sharon Dunetz, was born in the Bronx to Orthodox Jewish [1][2] emigrants from Hungary and Russia. Shortly after they met in the 1960s, the couple joined the Children of God cult and began traveling throughout South America as missionaries. Joaquin Rafael was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and lived there until he was six years old. As a result, he speaks Spanish fluently. He was born with a distinct scar on his lip, which is popularly believed to be the result of a repaired cleft lip. However, he has stated in interviews that his mother, while pregnant with him, felt a sharp pain one day and then he was born with the scar, implying that she believes the two events are connected. The birth scar is a microform, almost taking the form of a cleft, as the tissues just reached far enough to join up; since the bone and muscle tissues joined correctly no surgery or cleft repair was required.

After leaving the cult and returning to the USA (upon which they adopted the surname "Phoenix"), the family moved to Los Angeles, where his mother started working as a secretary for NBC, and his father became a landscaper. John and Arlyn encouraged their children to develop their creative instincts. His parents hired an agent, who eventually got the five children acting work. Since his siblings all had nature-related names, Joaquin had began going by "Leaf" at age four, inspired by spending time outdoors raking leaves with his dad. This is the name he would use as a child actor.

Joaquin is the third of five children; the others are River (1970 - 1993), Rain or "Rainbow Joan of Arc" (1973 - ), Liberty Butterfly or "Libertad Mariposa" (1976 - ), and Summer or "Summer Joy" (1978 - ).

Phoenix's first acting jobs were guest appearances on two television shows with his brother River: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982) and Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia (1984).

He made his big-screen debut in Space Camp (1986), playing the role of Max, and his first starring role was in Russkies (1987). He went on to establish himself as a child actor in Parenthood (1989), before deciding to withdraw from acting for a while and move to Mexico with his father.

Phoenix came back into public view under tragic circumstances — he was the person who dialed 9-1-1 when his brother River suffered a fatal drug overdose outside of a Hollywood nightclub, The Viper Room.

He was reluctant to re-enter the world of acting, but he did so at the insistence of his friends. He changed his name from "Leaf" back to "Joaquin."

He portrayed a troubled teen in Gus Van Sant's To Die For, and earned positive reviews for roles as the cruel Roman emperor Commodus in Gladiator (for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor), a conflicted priest in Quills, a washed-up baseball player in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, and a lovestruck farmer in Shyamalan's The Village.

Upon being cast as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line after Cash himself approved, Phoenix responded by buying a guitar and learning how to play. He spent several years practicing in-character as Johnny Cash before principal photography, including voice and guitar lessons, and mimicking Cash's persona. In 2006, he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, and won a Golden Globe in the same category, for his portrayal. Reese Witherspoon, who portrayed June Carter Cash in the film, stated during an interview that when they first performed in-character before a live audience, she was so impressed with his impersonation that she knew she "had to step it up a notch". Indeed, all of the vocal tracks in the movie and on the accompanying soundtrack are played and sung by Phoenix and Witherspoon.

Joaquin narrated the film "Earthlings" on behalf of PETA - a video about investigation of factory farming. He is a supporter of animal rights and active member of PETA. [1]

On January 26, 2006, a few days after his Golden Globe win for Walk The Line, he and another person were involved in an auto accident in the Hollywood Hills suburb in Los Angeles when his SUV flipped over and skidded onto its side. He suffered no serious injuries, and was pulled from his overturned car by German art film director Werner Herzog, whose home was located nearby. Phoenix appeared at the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards a few days later.

Phoenix is rumored to be cast as John Kelly (aka John Clark) in the film version of Tom Clancy's best-selling novel, Without Remorse. This is unconfirmed as of April 2006.

He has also started directing music videos for bands such as Ringside, She Wants Revenge, and People in Planes.