Place of Birth: Puerto Rico
Date of Birth: October 28, 1974
Dated:Liv Tyler
Trivia: Was named Joaquin at birth, but decided he wanted a more earthly name like his siblings River and Rain, so his father decided on Leaf. He later took back his birth name.
Brother of: River Phoenix, Summer Phoenix, Rain Phoenix and Liberty Phoenix
How to Pronounce His First Name: "Ho-aa-keen"

Personal quotes:

"When I go out with the ladies, I don't force them to try to pronounce my name. I tell them I like to go by the nickname Kitten."
- Joaquin Phoenix

"After River's death, I felt like I was in an altered state. It took me over a year to get my life back."

"To me, it`s a crime to sneak in and take a picture of someone dead in their ...  It`s a crime and if I ever found out who did that, I`d probably end up in prison. Because I`d beat the living shit out of them."

"River and I would talk about getting old, being in our 50s together, how it'd probably take us that long to get to work together. There was something gorgeous about us being old together. River will be missed - period. I mean now, more than ever I wish I could talk to him."

"If someone wants to write about me being in my brother's shadow, that's their prerogative. I can't worry about it, I'm very proud of my brother."

"I`m a great believer in people coming into your life, and you into theirs, for a reason. And i know that when Liv [Tyler]  and I met, it was for a reason - I really needed her and she really needed me. And at a certain point, I think we stopped evolving with each other, stopped progressing, and made a very mature decision to move on, even though there was still a great love there. There`s no one gossipy thing that I can share. I`m thankful that we had the time we had."

"It's strange. On The Yards, we all -- particularly Charlize [Theron] and me -- had really powerful scenes with each other, where you just know somebody's soul, completely exposed. And suddenly, everyone's packing up, "Yeah, we'll see each other," but it's never going to be the same. I don't know how much you know them and how much you know their characters. It's tough sometimes. I stay in touch. I talk to every director I've worked with, and a lot of the actors also."

"I had a really wonderful upbringing. We were a tight family. It was wonderful to grow up with so many siblings. We were all just a year or two apart, and we were always so supportive of each other. I learned everything from my older brother and sister and taught it to my younger sisters."

"Ive always felt when I was younger that there was something missing. I guess you go through  that growing up -- you want something. As soon as I started working as an actor, I just felt this void had filled."

"I mean, I get nervous in restaurants! I'm still figuring it out. Once the cameras are rolling, I'm right there, I'm comfortable, I just let go. In between takes, yeah, I'll get self-conscious. It's the process of film-making that I enjoy, not the stuff that comes later. But if you work as much as I want to, your face is bound to get out."

"I guess I feel I'm being productive and creative when I act. Everybody needs that: photographers, writers. I feel so happy when I'm working. It's what I want to do. Other than that, I can't analyze it."

"I would do one of those huge movies because I want to experience it. I think it`s probably a lot easier for me to do a scene in which I`m having an intimate conversation with someone on a quiet little set than it is to scream at a blue screen because I think a giant dragon`s penis is trying to swallow me. That, to me, is going to be a challenge."

"I`m not in this business for the lifestyle, to get into places and have free drinks."

"The reason I keep making movies is I hate the last thing I did. I'm trying to rectify my wrongs."

"I really think that the greatest fear for actors is reaching the point at which they go, 'God, I'm good at this', because I think the work will really suffer."

"What's gonna happen to you if you become a teenage heartthrob? - "I'm gonna eat a lot and gain weight. Then I'm gonna scar my face."

"I don't give a shit if I look like a freak, look at me right now:this is part of what's so sad about the business. They build you up-they take me, see they make me look pretty, they put the stuff in the hair, put the makeup on, snap the picture-then when they decide that I'm f*cked-up and on the downward spiral, they start using the picture someone's snapped where I've just gotten off a plane, flown all night through 7 time zones and I'm in mid-blink. while they like you, they use the good picture. But when word gets out that you might be doing drugs, when word gets out, right or wrong, that you, gasp, had drinks at a party, they dig up this picture and say Oh, look, he's stoned at the airport, he's stoned all the time."

Joaquin Phoenix