The best Joaquin Phoenix movies show his true range and talent as an actor, and he’s been showing his natural talent from a very young age. Phoenix got an early start in acting as a teenager, breaking into the industry with his brother, River Phoenix. Since that introduction to movies and TV, Phoenix has risen into a Hollywood A-lister, headlining everything from horror movies and historical epics to bizarre independent movies and action movies alike. He has shown his worth as a leading man and an accomplished supporting star.
Phoenix has also picked up the attention of some of Hollywood’s greatest directors. The actor has worked with everyone from P.T. Anderson and Spike Jonze to Ridley Scott and M. Night Shyamalan, and he has stood out in several of their biggest movies. He has won a Golden Globe Award, an Oscar, and a Grammy Award and earned three more Oscar nominations. It also seems like he is always on the minds of critics and fans everywhere with the interesting and offbeat roles he takes on.
10 You Were Never Really Here (2017)
A Neo-Noir About A Troubled Mercenary
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You Were Never Really Here is a psychological thriller directed by Lynne Ramsay and starring Joaquin Phoenix. The film follows Joe, a traumatized veteran who makes a living tracking down missing girls. As he becomes entangled in a conspiracy, Joe’s brutal methods and personal demons threaten to consume him. Adapted from Jonathan Ames’ novella, the movie delves deeply into themes of violence and redemption.
Director Lynne Ramsay Release Date April 6, 2018 Cast Judith Roberts , Alessandro Nivola , Vinicius Damasceno , Ekaterina Samsonov , John Doman , Alex Manette , Frank Pando , Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix has been in some big movies in his career, but one of his best roles was in a much quieter indie project. Released in 2017, Phoenix plays Joe, a mercenary who has dedicated his life to rescuing victims of human traffickers. Joe took on the job thanks to his anger issues from the pain his mother and he suffered thanks to his abusive father.
Related You Were Never Really Here & 9 Other Amazing Cerebral Thrillers To Watch
If they’ve done their job well, these are films that will stick in the mind of the audience long after they’ve finished.
However, when his latest target brings him to a Senator who will do anything to cover his crimes, Joe finds that he will have to put his life on the line to save the women who had their lives stolen. A24 produced You Were Never Really Here, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, where Phoenix won the Best Actor Award. It has fantastic reviews, with an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it earned eight BAFTA nominations, with two wins.
9 Napoleon (2023)
Joaquin Phoenix Stars As Napoleon
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From director Ridley Scott and writer David Scarpa comes Napoleon, a dramatic historical-epic film that follows the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte as he embarks on a lengthy French campaign of conquest. The film also focuses on his relationship with Josephine, his Empress and the love of his life, a relationship that was equal parts romantically intense and self-destructive.
Director Ridley Scott Release Date November 22, 2023 Distributor(s) Apple TV+ , Columbia Pictures Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Vanessa Kirby , Ben Miles , Ludivine Sagnier Runtime 158 Minutes
Ridley Scott worked with Joaquin Phoenix many years ago on Gladiator, an Oscar-winning epic movie about the battles in the Roman Empire. Just over 23 years later, Scott teamed with Phoenix again, and this time, made him the lead character in another historical epic. This time around, it was Napoleon. Phoenix took on the role of Napoleon Bonaparte, following him as he watched Marie Antoinette’s beheading and then showing his rise in power and relationship with his wife, Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).
Naploeon was nowhere as critically acclaimed as Gladiator, but it was still an epic work of filmmaking, with Phoenix giving his all as Napoleon as he struggled to lead his country and keep his home life intact. The biggest complaints about Napoleon were its historical inaccuracies, but critics praised the battle sequences and acting. Napoleon received three Oscar nominations, while Kirby received a Best Supporting Actress Award from the AACTA International Awards.
8 The Yards (2000)
Bribery, Corruption, & Crime In The NYC Rail Yards
In the 2000s, director James Gray made a few movies about the criminal underworld and he teamed with Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg on two of them, The Yards (2000) and We Own the Night (2007). Both were thrillers that focused on the little guys on the streets, often overwhelmed by the criminal overlords who often ruled their neighborhoods. The Yards is about people working in and around the railway yards in New York City.
The movie sees a man named Leo (Wahlberg) getting out of prison and his mother throwing him a surprise party. Here, he meets up with Willie (Phoenix), who thanks him for serving his prison time and offers him a job working for a railway car repair company. However, once there, Leo ends up in the middle of criminal activities, including bribery and political corruption, that all lead to murder. Phoenix won Best Supporting Actor from the National Board of Review Awards.
7 Signs (2002)
M. Night Shyamalan’s Alien Invasion Horror Movie
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Signs is a sci-fi horror film by director M. Night Shyamalan. It follows devout priest Graham Hess and his family as they find themselves in the middle of a mysterious event where crop circles appear in the middle of their farmland. Then, seeing the entire world begin to experience similar phenomena, the family starts to worry about their safety and the end of days as they ponder what may be coming.
Director M. Night Shyamalan Release Date August 2, 2002 Distributor(s) Disney Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Mel Gibson , Cherry Jones , Rory Culkin , Abigail Breslin Runtime 106 minutes
M. Night Shyamalan’s career started off with the highest of highs. The Sixth Sense was considered a modern-day masterpiece when it came out, and magazines touted Shyamalan as the next Steven Spielberg. He followed up with his biggest fan-favorite movie, Unbreakable, and then released his alien invasion movie, Signs. While his career started to falter after this, Signs was still a big hit when it came out, with critics and fans praising the tension and the aliens’ design.
Mel Gibson stars as a minister in a conflict of faith who struggles to raise his three kids following his wife’s death. Joaquin Phoenix is his oldest son and the story mostly focuses on how this family deals with the alien invasion and ends up fighting to protect their home when some show up at their door. Signs received mostly positive reviews, sitting at 75% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it was a box office success, making over $408 million on a $72 million budget (via Box Office Mojo).
6 Inherent Vice (2014)
P.T. Anderson Directs The Thomas Pynchon Adaptation
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Based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel, Inherent Vice is a noir-crime film that puts viewers in the perspective of private eye Doc Sportello during the 1960s, who fully embraces the hippie lifestyle while trying to do his job. When his former girlfriend and her new billionaire boyfriend go missing, Doc immerses himself in the depths of Los Angeles’s crime-laden underworld to solve the cases.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson Release Date December 12, 2014 Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Owen Wilson , Katherine Waterston , Benicio Del Toro , Reese Witherspoon , Josh Brolin Runtime 148minutes
Paul Thomas Anderson did something no one believed was possible in 2014: he took the Thomas Pynchon novel Inherent Vice and turned it into a movie. For years, most of the book’s fans claimed that Inherent Vice was unfilmable, a 369-page novel about a private detective in Los Angeles who is sucked into a case thanks to his ex-girlfriend. In the movie, Joaquin Phoenix plays the PI, Larry “Doc” Sportello, a pothead hippie who works as a PI in Los Angeles County.
Related Every Paul Thomas Anderson Protagonist, Ranked
From Dirk Diggler to Daniel Plainview to Alana Kane, Paul Thomas Anderson has created rich, complex protagonists to anchor his movies.
What Anderson does is create a film that is mostly about the atmosphere and the characters interacting with each other. As usual, he puts together an amazing cast, with Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio del Toro, Jena Malone, and many more dropping in and out of the story. Inherent Vice has only a 74% Rotten Tomatoes score, but many critics counted it down since it was considered lighter fare than Anderson’s past movies. It still earned two Oscar nominations.
5 The Master (2012)
P.T. Anderson’s Loose Look At Scientology
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Freddie Quell, a Navy veteran who suffered psychological trauma during World War II, struggles to readjust to civilian life post-war. When he meets Lancaster Dodd, leader of a philosophical movement known as The Cause, he believes he has found his place — but some think his new home may be a cult.
Director Paul Thomas Anderson Release Date September 14, 2012 Distributor(s) The Weinstein Company Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Amy Adams , Philip Seymour Hoffman , Laura Dern , Ambyr Childers , Rami Malek , Jesse Plemons , Kevin J. O’Connor Runtime 137 minutes
Before Inherent Vice, Paul Thomas Anderson teamed up with Joaquin Phoenix for one of the director’s most ambitious movies. This saw Anderson also re-team with a regular from his past in Philip Seymour Hoffman, who stars as Lancaster Dodd, the leader of a cult known as The Cause. He sees something special in Freddy (Phoenix), a World War II Navy veteran struggling to adjust to the civilian world. Once Freddy is accepted into The Cause, he starts to learn Dodd’s teachings, and things begin to spiral out of control.
Anderson based The Cause on the Church of Scientology, and Dodd on the founder, L. Ron Hubbard. The movie was also shot on 65mm film, which means there were limited theaters that could show it the way that Anderson meant for it to be seen. However, between the story, Anderson’s direction, and the great acting performances, The Master ended up listed as one of his best movies. It has an 85% Rotten Tomatoes score, and it earned three Oscar nominations, all for acting (Phoenix, Hoffman, and Amy Adams).
4 Joker (2019)
Joaquin Phoenix Takes On Batman’s Greatest Villain
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Directed by Todd Phillips, Joker is an origin story for Batman’s most iconic villain. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a down-on-his-luck clown who is trying to become a successful stand-up comedian. When things don’t go according to plan, and Arthur feels Gotham is oppressing him and others with mental illness, Arthur sparks a violent revolution within the city.
Director Todd Phillips Release Date October 2, 2019 Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Robert De Niro , Zazie Beetz , Frances Conroy , Brett Cullen , Shea Whigham Runtime 122 minutes
Joaquin Phoenix joined the ranks of comic book movie stars when he took on the role as one of the most infamous villains in all of comic book history. Phoenix signed on to play the Joker in the 2019 film, where the villain was the main character, and there was no superhero to battle him, as Bruce Wayne is still a child in the story. Directed by Todd Phillips (The Hangover), Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck, a failed clown who wants to be a stand-up comedian. However, he also struggles with his mental health and slowly falls along the way.
Joaquin Phoenix won his only Oscar for
Joker
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Fleck lives with and is forced to care for his ailing mother (Frances Conroy), a woman who constantly mentally abuses him. He idolizes a late-night talk show host (Robert De Niro), who eventually humiliates him. He also has a woman he loves (Zazie Beetz), but nothing in this movie is as it seems. Joker was a massive hit, and Phoenix became the second actor in Oscar history to win an acting award for playing Joker (Heath Ledger was the first for The Dark Knight). There is even a Joker sequel coming out in 2024.
3 Walk The Line (2005)
Joaquin Phoenix Plays Johnny Cash
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Walk the Line is a biographical drama film that tells the story of Johnny Cash, a legendary musician, and his tumultuous relationship with June Carter, a country singer. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as Carter, and explores their romance, as well as Cash’s struggles with addiction and fame.
Director James Mangold Release Date September 13, 2005 Writers Gill Dennis , James Mangold Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Reese Witherspoon , Ginnifer Goodwin , Robert Patrick , Dallas Roberts Runtime 136 Minutes
When Joaquin Phoenix revealed he would be singing in Joker: Folie à Deux, it surprised some people. However, no one should have been shocked because Phoenix has proven himself as a capable singer in the past. Phoenix won the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and a Grammy Award for Best Complication Soundtrack for Visual Media for his performance in Walk the Line. In the historical biopic, Phoenix stars as country music icon Johnny Cash.
Joaquin Phoenix sang all his songs rather than using Johnny Cash’s original recordings.
The movie follows Johnny Cash throughout his entire life and features iconic moments such as his performance at the Folsom State Prison. Reese Witherspoon stars as June Cash Carter, and the movie was a critical and commercial success. It made $186.8 million on a $28 million budget and has an 82% Rotten Tomatoes score. It also earned five Oscar nominations, including Best Actor for Phoenix, although only Witherspoon won an award for Best Actress.
2 Her (2013)
Spike Jonze’s Look At Loneliness In A Dystopian Future
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*Availability in US Director Spike Jonze Release Date January 10, 2014 Cast Joaquin Phoenix , Amy Adams , Scarlett Johansson , Rooney Mara Runtime 126 Mins
Spike Jonze hasn’t made a lot of movies, but his four feature films have all been great. His most recent movie came in 2013 with Her, which was a meditation on loneliness disguised as a dystopian sci-fi movie. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Theodore Twombly, a lonely man in the midst of a divorce. He lives in a futuristic society where people can use AI virtual assistants who have the ability to adapt and evolve. Theodore’s is named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson), and in an interesting twist, he and the AI soon fall in love.
Related Every Spike Jonze Movie Ranked
Spike Jonze is the master of absurd romance movies, and even though he has only made 4 films since 1999, they’re some of this generation’s best.
As with most movies about AI, things start to go wrong when Samantha becomes too self-aware and realizes that she can be so much more. However, that is only a small part of the story because Jonze focuses on Theodore and Amy Adams’ Amy, who has an AI of her own, as they struggle to adapt to a world where they are almost incapable of growing close to real people. Her has a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score and earned five Oscar nods, winning for Best Original Screenplay.
1 Gladiator (2000)
Ridley Scott’s Oscar-Worthy Roman Epic
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Ridley Scott’s historical epic Gladiator stars Russell Crowe as Maximus, a Roman general who is betrayed after the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). Pressed into slavery, Maximus is forced to fight in the Coliseum for the entertainment of the cruel new emperor, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Rising to the challenge and inspiring the slaves, Maximus fights to undermine Commodus’s unjust rule.
Director Ridley Scott Release Date May 5, 2000 Distributor(s) DreamWorks Distribution , Universal Pictures Cast Russell Crowe , Derek Jacobi , Oliver Reed , Connie Nielsen , Joaquin Phoenix , Djimon Hounsou , Richard Harris Runtime 155 minutes
Gladiator was the movie that earned Joaquin Phoenix his first Oscar nomination. Ridley Scott directs, and the film stars Russell Crowe as a Roman general named Maximus who loyally served his Emperor. However, after the Emperor’s death, his son, Commodus (Phoenix), shows his envy of Maximus and has him arrested, his family killed, and then sends him to serve as a gladiator in the Colosseum. Phoenix stars as Maximus, the villain of the movie. It was a monster success.
Gladiator earned over $465 million on a $103 million budget (via Box Office Mojo) and has an 80% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also picked up 12 Oscar nominations, winning five of them. The movie won Best Picture, and Crowe picked up his first Best Actor award. Scott also received a nomination for Best Director and Phoenix for Best Supporting Actor. There is also a sequel coming out in 2024 called Gladiator II, focusing on Joaquin Phoenix’s character’s nephew, Lucius.