Joaquin Phoenix is certainly one of the more divisive actors in Hollywood, but he has also proved that he has the talent to back up his controversial roles.
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The recent announcement that he will star as The Joker, for example, in a solo film about the origins of the character, has split many of even his most devoted fans.
Throughout his career, the 43-year-old has stared in a plethora of films, all of which have allowed the actor to serve up performances of varying depths.
Below, we have complied a list of some of the best films that Phoenix has stared in.
Scroll down top check them out, and let us know in the comments which of the actor’s many films is your favorite.
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.
