9 Fun Facts You May Not Know About Joaquin Phoenix

To create a film, a qualified team of at least a dozen people is required, consisting of a director and a crew. They are the ones who make touching stories a reality on the screen. However, there are some films in which the work of the lead actors stands out in such a way that it seems that the film's success is almost entirely due to their talent. This is the case with Joaquin Phoenix.

We've put together some interesting facts about the actor who wowed us with his last performance in The Joker.

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1. The cause of the scar on the lip.

Of course, you have already noticed this as it is one of his most unique facial features. While you might assume the scar came from an accident, surgery, or illness, the truth is that Joaquin was born with a cleft lip.

2. Throughout his career, he has starred in over 30 films.

His acting career began in 1986 when he was 12 years old. Since then, he has appeared in films such as Gladiator, She, Walk the Line, and many others.

3. He has been vegan since he was 3 years old.

Joaquin's family was vegetarian, so he adopted this lifestyle from an early age. He currently works with animal rights organizations and has run awareness-raising campaigns on animal cruelty in the past.

4. It took him 4 months to get the Joker laugh.

The laughter of the character speaks of suffering and fear, as it is caused by a condition associated with epilepsy. Phoenix carefully studied the behavior of people with this symptom for several months until he was able to perfectly execute a unique laugh.

5. In 2008, he announced his retirement.

Following his appearance in The Lovers and after being nominated for 2 Oscars, Joaquin announced his retirement from his acting career to develop a new artistic side as a hip-hop musician. This was later refuted as he was in fact working on a mock documentary called I'm Still Here.

6. At the age of 6, he changed his name to Leaf.

All of Joaquin's brothers and sisters have names associated with nature: River, Freedom, Rain, and Summer. Therefore, at the age of 6, he decided to change his name to Liszt. This lasted until the age of 16 when he decided to use his real name again.

7. He worked as a firefighter for a month to get used to the role.

In Team 49: Ladder of Fire, Joaquin played a firefighter who had to face a huge fire in order to save his family. As part of the research he did to bring this character to life, he worked in a real-life fire department for a month.

8. His brother, River Phoenix, also started acting when he was a child.

River Phoenix was the first family member to venture into action. He became famous for his role in Stay With Me.

9. He prefers to talk to his fans rather than take pictures.

The actor showed that he doesn't like taking pictures with his fans. On the contrary, he prefers to chat a little and spend some time with them, rather than just pose for a photo.