Joaquin Phoenix's 10 Best Movies

Her

Released: 2013 / Directed by: Spike Jonze

Also starring: Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, and Scarlett Johansson.

Unarguably Phoenix's best performance to date, Her sees the actor capturing a complex understanding of vulnerability.

In the film he plays Theodore Twombly, "a man who develops a relationship with Samantha (Johansson), an intelligent computer operating system personified through a female voice."

Her earned numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Phoenix.

You Were Never Really Here

Released: 2017 (CFF), 2018 (wide release) / Directed by: Lynne Ramsay

Also starring: Ekaterina Samsonov, Alex Manette, John Doman, and Judith Roberts.

Based on the book of the same name, You Were Never Really Here is a dark and violent thriller that has had critics cheering.

In the film, Phoenix stars as Joe, "a hired gun who rescues trafficked girls, using brutal methods against those responsible." It received a seven-minute standing ovation when it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in France, with Phoenix going on to win the festival's Best Actor Award.

The Master

Released: 2012 / Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson

Also starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Laura Dern, Rami Malek, Jesse Plemons, and Jillian Bell.

The Master is a controversial film was partially inspired by the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, and stars Pheonix as a World War II veteran names Freddie Quell who falls in with Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a cult-like movement called "The Cause."

The film has received mass critical acclaim, and earned Phoenix an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.

Walk the Line

Released: 2005 / Directed by: James Mangold

Also starring: Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick, and Dallas Roberts.

Phoenix stared as the late great county music legend Johnny Cash in this biopic film about the singer's epic romance with his wife June Carter Cash (played by Witherspoon).

The film raked in over $186 million worldwide, and earned Phoenix an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

To Die For

Released: 1995 / Directed by: Gus Van Sant

Also starring: Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillon, Casey Affleck, Illeana Douglas, Wayne Knight, and Kurtwood Smith.

Often cited as Phoenix's breakthrough film role, this mid-'90s dark-comedy saw the actor staring as Jimmy Emmett, a young and highly impressionable high school student.

Jimmy is convinced by Suzanne Stone-Maretto (Kidman) to kill her husband, with the ensuing police investigation and news coverage causing things to spiral out of control.

The Immigrant

Released: 2013 (Cannes) 2014 (wide release) / Directed by: James Gray

Also starring: Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Renner, Yelena Solovey, and Dagmara Dominczyk.

The Immigrant is a captivating story in which Phoenix plays Bruno Weiss, a club manager in the 1920s who rescues the lovely Ewa (Cotillard) from deportation and unwittingly falls in love with her.

There romance is ill-fated, however, as she eventually meets and falls for his cousin, Orlando (Renner). A tragic turn of events ensues, and the audience is left with a beautifully repentant performance by Pheonix.

Gladiator

Released: 2000 / Directed by: Ridley Scott

Also starring: Russell Crowe, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, and Richard Harris.

In this classic historical drama epic, Phoenix plays Commodus, "the amoral, power-hungry, twisted son of Marcus Aurelius" who "murders his father when he learns that Maximus (Crowe) will hold the emperor's powers in trust until a new republic can be formed."

Gladiator pulled in over $450 million at the global box office, and earned Phoenix a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.

Signs

Released: 2002 / Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Also starring: Mel Gibson, Rory Culkin, and Abigail Breslin.

In this sci-fi horror flick, Phoenix stars as former minor league baseball player Merrill Hess, the younger brother of Gibson's character Graham Hess.

As the film unravels, the audience is eventually made aware that Merrill's past will help save the family, regardless of his lack of faith in himself.

Inherent Vice

Released: 2014 / Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson

Also starring: Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio del Toro, Jena Malone, Maya Rudolph, Eric Roberts, and Martin Short.

Inherent Vice is a neo-noir crime film that is composed of equal parts comedy and drama, and it is based on a novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon.

In it, Phoenix plays Larry "Doc" Sportello, "a stoner hippie and private investigator in 1970, who is embroiled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld while investigating three cases interrelated by the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend (Waterston) and her wealthy boyfriend (Roberts)."

Buffalo Soldiers

Released: 2003 / Directed by: Gregor Jordan

Also starring: Anna Paquin, Ed Harris, Scott Glenn, Haluk Bilginer, Idris Elba, Leon Robinson, and Michael Peña.

While likely not one of the first films that would come to mind when thinking of Phoenix's illustrious career, Buffalo Solders is still one of the best performances he's given.

Maybe because its more scaled back, with Phoenix playing a character that is relatable on a more general level than the majority of his other roles.

If you've not seen this Joaquin Phoenix yet, consider giving it a watch sometime soon.