In 2004, Phoenix paired with Shyamalan again, playing a lovestruck farmer in The Village. It received mixed reviews but was a financial success, grossing $256 million worldwide on its $60 million budget. For his second film that year, Phoenix starred in the drama film Ladder 49 as a Baltimore firefighter. The film earned $102 million at the box office despite receiving generally mixed reviews. Roger Ebert gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars, praising the performances in the film. Phoenix's final film of 2004 was Terry George's Hotel Rwanda, playing photographer Jack Daglish. The film was a moderate financial success but was a critical success, receiving almost exclusively positive reviews from critics. For his performance in the film, Phoenix was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture along with the cast.
As a child, Phoenix started acting in television with his brother River and sister Summer. His first major film role was in SpaceCamp (1986). During that period, he was credited as Leaf Phoenix, a name he gave himself. He later went back to his original name and received positive reviews for his supporting work in the comedy-drama film To Die For (1995) and the period film Quills (2000). He received wider attention for his portrayal of Commodus in the historical drama film Gladiator (2000), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He subsequently earned Best Actor nominations for portraying musician Johnny Cash in Walk the Line (2005), an alcoholic war veteran in The Master (2012), and the title character in Joker (2019), winning for the latter. His other films include the horror films Signs (2002) and The Village (2004), the historical drama Hotel Rwanda (2004), the romantic drama Her (2013), the crime satire Inherent Vice (2014), and the psychological thriller You Were Never Really Here (2017), winning the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for the latter.
More InfoIn order to provide food and financial support for the family, the Phoenix children performed at various talent contests, singing and playing instruments. In Los Angeles, his mother started working as an executive secretary for NBC, and his father worked as a landscape architect. Phoenix and his siblings were eventually discovered by one of Hollywood's leading children's agents, Iris Burton, who got the five children acting work, mainly doing commercials and television show appearances. At the age of eight, Joaquin made his acting debut alongside his brother River in the television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in the 1982 episode "Christmas Song". In his first major role, Phoenix co-starred opposite River in the ABC Afterschool Special entitled Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia (1984). Also in 1984, Phoenix made guest appearances in the Murder, She Wrote episode "We're Off to Kill the Wizard" with his sister Summer, and individual episodes of The Fall Guy and Hill Street Blues.
More InfoStallone has occasionally sung in his films. He sang "Too Close To Paradise" for Paradise Alley (1978), with the music provided by Bill Conti (who also collaborated with Stallone in prior years, having recorded the famous "Gonna Fly Now" theme for his Academy Award-nominated film, Rocky (1976) which was a U.S. #1 hit). In Rocky IV (1985), Stallone (as Rocky Balboa) sang "Take Me Back" to his on-screen wife, Adrian (Talia Shire), as they lay in bed. The song was first performed by his younger brother, Frank, who had a small role in the original Rocky as a singer at a street corner, and then bit parts in several of the sequels. For Rhinestone (1984), Stallone sang such songs as "Drinkenstein" as well as duets with his co-star, and actual country music star, Dolly Parton. He also performed two songs when he guest-starred on The Muppet Show in the 1980s, at the height of his career. The last time Stallone sang in a film was in Grudge Match (2013) when he and Robert De Niro performed "The Star Spangled Banner" together. Stallone's brother Frank achieved moderate success as a pop singer, releasing the #10 U.S. hit "Far From Over" in 1983 for the film Staying Alive, which Stallone directed and had a cameo appearance in. Frank also portrayed the character Carl in the film. In addition to this, Frank has contributed songs to other films starring his brother, including Rambo: First Blood Part II, and The Expendables 2.
More InfoIn 2000, Phoenix co-starred in three films. He made his first collaboration with director James Gray in The Yards. The film follows the corruption in the rail yards of Queens. Although failing to perform at the box office, The Yards was received with positive reviews. That same year, Phoenix played a fictionalized version of Roman Emperor Commodus in the historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott. The film was a massive financial and critical success, becoming one of the highest earning films of 2000, with a worldwide box office gross of $457 million and received universal critical praise. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture. For his performance, which the critic Lisa Schwarzbaum described as "deliciously creepy perversity", Phoenix was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and received his first nomination for the Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actor. He and late brother River Phoenix became the first brothers to be nominated for acting Academy Awards. To date they are the only brothers to hold this distinction.
More InfoIn order to provide food and financial support for the family, the Phoenix children performed at various talent contests, singing and playing instruments. In Los Angeles, his mother started working as an executive secretary for NBC, and his father worked as a landscape architect. Phoenix and his siblings were eventually discovered by one of Hollywood's leading children's agents, Iris Burton, who got the five children acting work, mainly doing commercials and television show appearances. At the age of eight, Joaquin made his acting debut alongside his brother River in the television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in the 1982 episode "Christmas Song". In his first major role, Phoenix co-starred opposite River in the ABC Afterschool Special entitled Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia (1984). Also in 1984, Phoenix made guest appearances in the Murder, She Wrote episode "We're Off to Kill the Wizard" with his sister Summer, and individual episodes of The Fall Guy and Hill Street Blues.
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