Joaquin Phoenix

This intense actor's early years were seemingly as dramatic as any of his film roles. As children, the Phoenix siblings---including Summer and the late River---traveled the world with their missionary hippie parents. In the 1980s the Phoenixes worked as child actors, and eldest River became a breakout star. Billed under the name Leaf, Joaquin did his share of TV guest spots and small film roles, notably as a disaffected teen in the 1989 movie Parenthood. He then disappeared from showbiz for six years, during which time he reverted to his given name and watched River die from a drug overdose outside a Los Angeles nightspot. (Joaquin's desperate 911 call was played ad nauseam on the news for months.) In 1995 he made a triumphant return to the big screen in the black comedy To Die For as an easily manipulated teen murderer. Although his next film, Inventing the Abbotts, failed to register at the box office, it sparked a romance with costar Liv Tyler.  A turning point for the actor came in 2000 when his deliciously villainous turn in Gladiator earned him an Oscar nod. His fiery style was subsequently put to use in a number of high-profile projects, including Quills and Signs. In 2005 Phoenix earned rave reviews, a Golden Globe award and his second Oscar nomination for playing Johnny Cash in the 2005 biopic Walk the Line, which featured Phoenix performing his own singing for the part. In other musical ventures, he has directed music videos---including videos for Silversun Pickups and Albert Hammond Jr.---and, in 2008, he announced his retirement from film to focus on a rap career, discussing the matter in an erratic guest appearance the following year on The Late Show With David Letterman. Away from the silver screen, he is a social activist, championing animal rights and supporting charitable organizations such as Amnesty International and the Peace Alliance. ~ Rovi