Joaquin Phoenix quotes

We are all animals of this planet. We are all creatures. And nonhuman animals experience pain sensations just like we do. They too are strong, intelligent, industrious, mobile, and evolutional. They too are capable of growth and adaptation. Like us, firsthand foremost, they are earthlings. And like us, they are surviving. Like us they also seek their own comfort rather than discomfort. And like us they express degrees of emotion. In short like us, they are alive.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Strong #Pain #Animal

I still have a hard time saying who Johnny [ Cash ] is in one sentence. He seemed so contradictory in his actions, and I think that's probably what is most fascinating about him and what made him such an interesting character to study.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Character #Hard Times #Thinking

It takes nothing away from a human to be kind to an animal.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Animal #Be Kind #Vegan

Getting into the character is difficult and letting go of your life and the things that kind of define you, whatever it is in life that's your daily routine because you sort of find yourself in this other life and that's difficult and the other end is difficult.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Letting Go #Character #Finding Yourself

My significant other right now is myself, which is what happens when you suffer from multiple personality disorder and self-obsession.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Self #Personality #Suffering

Every single movie that I've ever done has affected my life; I always feel more changed by a character than I affect them or change them, always. I mean, that's just kind of the way it is.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Character #Mean #Done

Acting is real important to me. I love it, and it's something I care about.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Real #Important #Acting

My personal life absolutely goes down the drain when I start working; that's something that I'm incapable of doing.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Drains #Personal Life

I don't know a single person in life that doesn't have conflict.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Conflict #Single Person #Persons

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

#Hate #Trying #Lasts

I've always loved hip-hop, since I was a kid, that's the music that I loved. I think everyone of our generation kind of fantasized about hip-hop in some ways.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Kids #Thinking #Our Generation

I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one fish was caught, he was writhing, then he was thrown against the side of the boat. You couldn't disguise what it was. This was what we did to animals to eat them. The animal went from a living, vibrant creature fighting for life to a violent death. I recognized it, as did my brothers and sisters.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Brother #Memories #Fighting

I'm going to sound a little weird here, but I like to spend a lot of time on my own in the woods. I don't exactly sneak off in the middle of the night, but I like to be in a place where no one can reach me by phone or e-mail.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Night #Phones #Sound

I don't walk around like I'm a movie star because I don't think of myself as a movie star. People usually don't even notice me.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Stars #Thinking #People

My music is going to be true. I'm not out to sell records. I'm experiencing something, and it's what I feel.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Records #Music Is #Being True

Might I be ridiculous? Might my career in music be laughable? Yeah, that's possible, but that's certainly not my intention.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Careers #Might #Ridiculous

It's an amazing feeling to go into a studio and really be alone.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Feelings

I've worked with a lot of people on music and often times those things don't work out.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#People #Work Out

I've made up so many stores about my name, I can't remember.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Names #Remember #Made

I'm vomiting days before I start shooting a new movie.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Shooting #Vomiting

I enjoy humour more than anything, I don't really sit around banging my head and crying all the time.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Cry #Enjoy #Humour

For me, I'd rather have an intense experience than not.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Intense

I don't know why I always get to play these guys who have few redeeming features. But don't knock it. Villains are much more fun.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Fun #Play #Guy

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.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Brother #Growing Up #Sibling

I once told a journalist that girls call me 'Kitten,' but I couldn't have been more sarcastic, and no matter how many times I've said that it was a joke, it still doesn't go away.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Girl #Sarcastic #Going Away

I didn't know much about him, and I wasn't a big country music fan. I listened to the Beatles and David Bowie, so I didn't know a lot about him.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Country #Fans #Bigs

I'd see child actors and I'd get so jealous, because they're just completely wide open.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Children #Jealous #Actors

I wouldn't feel satisfied being on set every day doing a romantic comedy - I'd be bored to death.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Bored #Comedy #Satisfied

I wish I had fair justification for not being as informed as I should be, but I don't.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Wish #Should #Justification

I love having a master. I have no problem serving my director. That's my job. I want to make them happy.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Jobs #Directors #Want

It's hard for me to put my feelings into words.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Feelings

I still think that movies are amazing; I respect actors and directors.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Thinking #Directors #Actors

I don't spend most of my life in front of the media.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Media

The footage that you're about to watch of China's dog-leather trade is one of the worst things I've ever seen.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Dog #Watches #Leather

Every movie soaks into you for a certain amount of time.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Certain

For me, I guess I'm the acting equivalent of somebody that jumps off buildings and parachutes.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Acting #Building #Parachutes

Together, we can make a U.S. Department of Peace into a reality, and leave a gift of peace for generations to come.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Reality #Together #Generations

I don't bring my life into a character at all.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Character

I don't believe in god. I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in soul. I don't believe in anything. I think it's totally right for people to have their own beliefs if it makes them happy, but to me it's a pretty preposterous idea.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Believe #Thinking #Ideas

I would try and sing along with bands that I like but it sounded so atrocious that I couldn't.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Trying #Band

I loved hip-hop. The first stuff I heard was Public Enemy, and I couldn't believe it. It was amazing, and I've always loved hip-hop.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Believe #Hip Hop #Enemy

I know if I'm lost in the moment or not.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Moments #Lost

I just I don't feel challenged by acting anymore. I don't enjoy the process anymore.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Acting #Process #Enjoy

I guess my experience with some stuff is kind of abstract.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Stuff #Kind #Abstract

I guess I had what you could call an unconventional upbringing.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Unconventional #Upbringing

I don't think one should be comfortable standing on a stage with people applauding and laughing at every stupid thing you say.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Stupid #Thinking #People

I always have the fear that, if I don't commit 100 percent to my work, then it's gonna suffer.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Suffering #Commit

That to me was really, certainly, the gateway into discovering John, ... I feel I found the speaking voice through the singing voice.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Voice #Singing #Gateways

The expectation is this low, gravelly voice for John, but I went through his early recordings and there were songs in there where the voice was so different, I wasn't even sure if it was him singing, ... So it was interesting to me that we would see him develop the Man in Black sound. I thought it was really important that his voice change as his persona slowly solidified. The music was really the doorway into the character.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Song #Character #Men

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

#Names #Nicknames #Kitten

When I look back I can't believe how my parents managed, but the cliche is true. We didn't have money, but we were rich in so many other ways.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Believe #Parent #Looks

With public figures involved in a relationship it seems that there is a machine behind their love so oftentimes.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Machines #Figures #Behinds

I have this horrible sense of humor where I think discomfort is funny - partly because I experience discomfort a lot, and it's a way of laughing at it and getting a release.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Funny #Thinking #Laughing

In every film, whether it's a fictional character or not, you create an idea of the character and for me I always do a bad impersonation to start with.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Character #Ideas #Film

I becan acting when River was doing this TV series and they needed two kids for the show, so they got me and my little sister, Summer, to do it. After that I did some really weird guest spots with orangutans and stuff.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Summer #Kids #Two

In most films - especially in regards to the protagonist - really from the get-go they set up some scenario that endears that character to the audience. Or imbues him with some nobility or heroism or something.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Character #Heroism #Film

Is it that your dream is unattainable or is it that you have the wrong dream?
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Dream #Vision #Unattainable

As a nation, this is the moment to start seriously investing our time, energy and resources into proven methods of reducing violence, both within our nation as well as internationally. The cost of violence to our culture and our children is simply not sustainable.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Children #Investing #Violence

The less someone knows about me, the better, because my intention is to play a variety of characters.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Character #Play #Intention

I think the day that I become comfortable doing interviews and going on talk shows is the day that I don't know what it is to be a human being anymore.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Thinking #Interviews #Shows

You see so many earnest characters in movies all the time, everyone has a purpose.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Character #Purpose #Earnest

Do I have a large frog in my hair? I have the sensation that something is eating my brain.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Hair #Brain #Frogs

I don't have the slightest desire to speak over my dead brother. It gets on my nerves to always be compared with him. My brother was a magnificent person and an outstanding actor.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Brother #Desire #Nerves

I'm proud of my brother. I would never not want to be associated with him.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Brother #Want #Proud

I've been prepping for my role as Medusa.
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Medusa #Roles

Well, I think that you know, I threatened myself with quitting after every movie. But I think everybody does that, right?
-- Joaquin Phoenix

#Thinking #Doe #Quitting