this video is brought to you by movie get a whole month free at movie.com Cinema award nominated Phoenix W Phoenix he is one of the greatest actors living today but also one of the most misunderstood think what you think about me hate you like me just don't misunder understand me he is famous for playing Dark and unconventional characters most notably his Oscar winning role as the Jer the Gladiator and recently Napoleon but behind the cameras he is very mysterious and not a fan of interviews making it difficult to tell when he's joking or being serious
okay I don't have to just relax I'm making fun of it but it was pretty serious for me he has been acting ever since he was young and so deeply embodies his characters that it's sometimes hard to get a grasp on who he really is this is the turbulent life of walking Phoenix and an attempt to understand the man behind the many faces Phoenix he retir born in 1974 on the island of Puerto Rico Wen Rafael botam had quite an unusual childhood he had a different name and was raised in a nomadic lifestyle of hippies
and free Spirits by his parents Arlin and John botom who met each other while hitchhiking he had three sisters rain Liberty and Summer and One older brother named River who later became a famous actor as well playing in standby me my own private ID and Indiana Jones wen's family was part of a religious community known as the children of God for the first few years it appeared to be relatively innocent it promoted a blend of Christian teachings communal living and his parents encouraged self-expression making it second nature for Wen to start acting but in 1976
controversy began the community gained notoriety for its cold-like behavior and in the following years children of God descended Into Darkness and perversion for which it became Infamous w told CBS News I think my parents thought they found a community that shared their ideals but I think the moment my parents realized there was something more to it they got out his mother told Esquire magazine in 1994 they are disgusting they're ruining people's lives after the family left the cult in 1978 they fled on a fishing boat to the United States in order to start a new
life and decided to change their family name from bottom to Phoenix as a symbol of their new beginnings they were virtually homeless when they moved to and the children would perform on the streets of Los Angeles to earn extra money and took part in talent contests which eventually gained the attention of local media singing and dancing later became a recurring Motif in wen's most famous works and so an actor was born in the following years Wen appeared in various TV shows under the name Lee Phoenix as he also changed his name but if I tell
you a story he made a guest appearance together with his brother which led to other small roles my memory is that felt like my entire body was buzzing there was a certain kind of power that right I was in a room full of adults and I felt that um I had like affected them like I I had changed how they were feeling well you punched one of them well she changed how she Wasing it wasn't real your daddy's very sick right now my daddy's not sick don't say that about him don't say that about him
and through my brother and his understanding and appr appreciation of that kind of acting I think it just like awakened something in me and I I suddenly could could see it as a teenager Wakee became surprisingly picky about the roles he took and didn't act much his brother River Phoenix had become a household name and at 18 was nominated for an oscar but in 1993 it all ended River Phoenix died of a drug overdose outside this Hollywood club while keen and Rain Phoenix were with him hey what's the address sir do you know what's the
address theing Club Hey sir sir calm down a little bit okay I'm sorry it's my brother please come here how old is he he's 23 calm down okay if you can't calm down give the phone to somebody else there's no one else around wiim was just 19 at the time and after the death of his brother he disappeared from the spotlights the family retreated to Costa Rica to escape the media as the tragedy became a never ending stream of myth and conspiracy during that time in which you're most vulnerable there are helicopters flying over there
are people that are trying to sneak onto your land certainly for me it felt like it impeded on the morning process W stopped acting for 2 years but then he came back up until this time he appeared in every movie as Lee Phoenix but now he is embracing himself the scar above his upper lip adding a sense of Menace there was something raw about his talent he wasn't dare to replace his brother wien's Beauty was darker and he had something vulnerable about him he was back in a World's radar as an actor to keep an
eye out for why you not entertained are you not entertained is this not why you were [Music] here in the year 2000 and Phoenix played his most important role thus far in the Gladiator directed by Ridley Scott who recently teamed up for another historical epic Napoleon in the Gladiator wiim played the Evil son of a Roman Emperor but instead of becoming a cartoonish villain he created a multi-layered character study this was the start of a forever method actor completely embodying his roles Phoenix even became his character off camera carrying his sword around on set and
even keeping one in his hotel room but he wasn't the easiest to work with he refused to wear all the leather elements of his costumes and demanded them to be replaced because he had been a vegan his whole life he also struggled a lot with anxiety because it was the first time on such a large scale project rley Scott ran through hours of takes without filming the camera just to get him to calm down but this gave Wen the chance to enhance each tag with his improvisation am I not [Music] merciful am I not we
all know how fine an actor he is now but back then it was only Ridley Scott that knew how fine an actor he was he was the one convincing waim to do this and to do it the way he did it you know the subtleties and the Menace and the all of these things that he brought to that role when I first saw it I was blown away by it you would fight me why not do you think I'm afraid I think you have been afraid all all your life when Gladiator was released it became
a massive hit and Wen received his first ever nomination for best supporting actor but didn't win it Russell Crow however won best actor and thanked Wen Russell Crow an incredible cast Walk Phoenix Connie neelson Gladiator launched Phoenix career to new heights and he later became synonymous with the art of method acting known for his commitment and immersion into roles often pushing himself to extreme lengths to achieve authenticity such as for the Joker this guy's got inhuman discipline I think Todd Phillips said something like I think the character should be kind of skinny just kind of
said it you know casually like I think and Wen I think showed up at 124 lbs they go let's give you a nutritionist and everything else and he said no no no it's okay he just ate an apple and smoked cigarettes he Dives deep into the psyche of his characters extensively researching their backgrounds altering his physical appearance and adopting their mannerisms his performances are often improvised and for the master Phoenix went so far as to put brackets and rubber bands on his teeth so his jaw stayed shut creating this menacing smile Wen has been typ
cast for many dark and mysterious characters because the truth is he's just too good at playing Outsiders and introverts screenwriter Doug Wright when said Phoenix is someone who could slide by you in the hallway but Amma LS at him and he becomes 30 ft tall how do you do it it's basically um just allowing those barriers um that I have for myself to to break to let them down and to just be as raw as possible and let the emotions and the fear um and the regret and the pain of this character really come through
but committing this much to a role eventually took its toll you never played guitar or sang before this had you ever sung before it was completely was completely foreign to me when I held the guitar the first time I didn't know what to make of it [Applause] Phoenix 2005 Wen won the Golden Globe for portraying the turbulent life of country star Johnny Cash in Walk the Line thank you very much um who' ever thought that I'd win in the comedy or musical category not expected by betraying Johnny Cash Phoenix was so committed to the role
that he not only replicated Cash's musical achievements but also his addictions during production he started drinking for comfort and many suspected that Phoenix was experiencing a form of therapy because cash had also lost his brother at a young age during this scene he tears the sink out of the wall which wasn't scripted director James mangled said that Phoenix had completely embodied his character I could film Wen from the back and without seeing his face he would be able to tell what he was feeling he never impersonated Johnny Cash he became him this movie earned waka's
second nomination for an oscar but again didn't win Philip Seymour hofman in cap Phoenix felt a certain emptiness after rapping the movie it was really hard for me to leave the movie I was angry hurt and felt abandoned I didn't know what to do to play cash I had learned a whole new way of functioning in the world and suddenly I couldn't rely on that anymore he later made the decision to check himself into rehab and called the network the best thing I ever did but his extreme method acting made him abandon his personal life
and his own personality one producer even said he's better at being a character than being himself Wen is just kind of an enigma it's hard to understand him even when he's like sort of normal just a very eccentric guy you know you never really know what he's up to walking Phoenix announced his retirement announc that he was retiring from Stars this will be my last performance as an I'm not doing films anymore are you serious in 2008 wen's career took an odd direction that caught many people off guard media Outlets picked up in the news
that W stopped acting to become a rapper he had grown a beard gained weight and there were plenty of parodies of his new image even at the Oscars where Phoenix wasn't invited cheing gum at the Oscars Wen had burned all bridges with the media and after his appearance on the David Letterman show people thought he had lost his mind we're having fun is that we're having fun just relax seriously I'll come to your house and chew gum okay I don't have to relax I won't do the gum but what people didn't know is that was
all one big joke he teamed up with his friend and brother-in-law Casey Affleck to make a mockumentary film titled I'm still here where Phoenix plays a parody of himself acting like a star in crisis I don't want to play the character of Walken anymore I'm just stuck in this ridiculous like self-imposed prison of uh characterization you know it happened to me young Phoenix has been known for keeping his personal life away from the media and throughout his career has often been shy in interviews and even got ridiculed for it trouble times excuse me kidding what
did you learn about yourself and your voice in absolutely nothing yeah came out cold these things happen they do I'm still here was a payback to the media by turning his unpredictable and private Persona into a caricature he stayed in character everywhere he went for an entire year taking method acting to a whole new level but even though it was a joke about ending his career it almost cost him his career when he appeared on the David Letterman show it was more like a public humiliation and embracing a different life didn't do his personal relations
any good either but no matter what happened he stuck with it which demonstrates wen's unmatched Devotion to his craft and it's in those moments that real recognizes real and I got to tell you I went to one of his concerts in Miami I remember you were there thank you so much Phoenix was aware the movie might fail but as he States it was an amazing experience not hitting your mark not memorizing lines it allowed me to be bold in my decisions instead of being safe now for the first time I'm doing something that is whether
you like it or not it really represents me and Wen I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight [Applause] um one small thing yeah when you bring me out can you introduce me as Joker what's wrong with your real name that's what you called me on the show a joker do you remember people often divide wen's career into pre and post I'm still here because what came after it was a period of Wen showing the world the expansion of his acting range in the movie her we get to see a very intimate and emotional performance and
in the master we see his innocence morph into possessed rage I told her I come back and I never went back and know I just I got to get back to sure why don't you go back I don't know why don't you I don't know close your eyes 2 years later his co-star passed away losing another close friend to an overdose tragic death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman or what they believe was a heroin overdose this movie Gwen is third Oscar nomination but again didn't win in the years that followed he portrayed a whole range
of characters experimenting with the Absurd acting with limited body movements and playing Jesus with his girlfriend Rooney Mara finally receiving praise at the can film festival but even after portraying so many faces Wen says he still suffers from anxiety do you get nervous yes petrified there's so many things that I want to express I guess I'm just nervous that I'm not going to be able to to find the right kind of space to express that it's not a big deal it's not a big deal yeah kind of is just singer actor dancer fashion I how
is that insult but when he does get the space to do so Wen will give each scene a new interpretation providing enough improvisation to make a trillion different versions of the film during one scene he began improvising a dance in a room with just the cameraman and the director while a crew of 250 people waited outside and for some reason it encapsulated for me like Joker trying to kind of come out trying to emerge you know the bus scene where he can't stop laughing mhm I saw them shooting that when I got the set I
swear to God I saw him walking and I I I knew he was going to win an Oscar it was that good and I looked at Todd and I go holy he goes you have no idea dude and the Oscar goes to wacking Phoenix Joker this is the first Oscar and fourth nomination for walking Phoenix um God I'm full of so much gratitude right now uh uh and I do not feel elevated above any of my fellow nominees or anyone in this room because we share the the same love the the love of film and
this form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life um I don't know what I'd be without it it's that blurring line between reality and performance art that makes Phoenix such a great actor he is a person who is unafraid to reveal his emotions and who dives deep into the complex ities of The Human Experience somebody who values authenticity and one who is committed to making a positive impact on the world that is the real Walking Phoenix I've been selfish I've been cruel at times hard to work with and ungrateful but so many of
you in this room have given me a second chance and I think that's when we're at our best when we support each other not when we cancel each other out for past mistakes but when we help each other to grow when we educate each other when we guide each other towards Redemption that is the best of humanity when he was 17 my brother wrote this lyric he said run to the rescue with love and peace will follow thank [Music] you we'll see you not if I see you first [Music] wen's career is far from being
over with Napoleon and Joker par two in the Horizon there's not much that can stop this man from achieving greatness in 2019 he also got engaged to Rooney Mara and a year later welcomed his son into the world they gave him the name River Phoenix if you want to watch some walking Phoenix movies I got you because her we own a night you were never really here and the Immigrant are currently streaming a movie not only in my country the Netherlands but in many other countries movie is a curated streaming service dedicated to elevating great
Cinema a place to discover ambitious new films and singular voices from Iconic directors to emerging URS and the best thing is that they are all carefully handpicked by movie curators streaming anytime anywhere I work anytime anywhere will you work Jewish holidays anytime anywhere you can try movie free for 30 days at movie.com Cinema that's mubi.com Cinema for an entire month of great Cinema for [Music] free
