There’s something elusive, and deeply inscrutable about Joaquin Phoenix. For an actor of such critical and commercial approbation, he’s intriguingly camera-shy, with a peculiarly youthful tone to his voice and a propensity to almost stumble over his words. He possesses a permanent air as an actor from a long bloodline of theatrical talent. He is encased in this inexplicable mystique that not only makes him unreadable but an unknown quantity in the public eye and tabloid press.

To be such a recognizable figure, yet still have so many people pronounce your name incorrectly is a rarity. From "Whackin," "Jowquin," and "Jacquin," the Gladiator star has heard all, and every variation of his Christian name, pronounced "wha-KEEN," it must be a blessing in disguise that he can ignore the calls from passers-by, who are inadvertently calling a name that certainly isn’t his. Unfortunately, for a man who famously shuns public attention, the noise around his name is only going to get louder.

Nepotism Done Right

Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator
DreamWorks Distribution / Universal Pictures

From Donald Trump to George W. Bush, nepotism is a direct result of a capitalist society. Many undeserved, incompetent children of the rich and famous have benefited from the fruits of their parents. In Phoenix’s case, the contacts his mother made as an NBC secretary, and his older brother, River’s rapid rise to fame, allowed Joaquin to chisel a career for himself in an acting capacity. Partly using his mother and brother as an initial stepping-stone, Joaquin was neither undeserving nor incompetent at the craft he chose, and has repeatedly substantiated the rhetoric around him being the greatest, or at the very least, soon-to-be greatest, actor of our time.

Neither an Oratorical Thespian nor an Action Man

You Were Never Really Here
Amazon Studios

Since the conception of the motion picture over a century ago, the frequency of generational acting talents has been few and far between. Although the names of male leads that have transcended cinema have taken diverse forms on-screen, there has been a particular demographic of actors that has flourished. From the full-bodied, fervently manly action stars, like John Wayne and Robert Redford to the oratorical thespians such as Marlon Brando and Morgan Freeman, the iconic actors of years gone by fit into one or both categories.

Related: 10 Joaquin Phoenix Movies That Don’t Get Enough Attention

Joaquin Phoenix is an exception to the rule, a non-conforming anomaly, the Joker in the pack... if you will. His immense adaptability is, arguably, unparalleled, with the only other actor around today similar being Daniel Day-Lewis... and he's retired. He has almost single-handedly redefined the lead-male role, transitioning effortlessly between a disgruntled villain in Gladiator, a pothead-detective in Inherent Vice, an alcoholic Johnny Cash, to a moody, laconic, rough and ready hitman in You Were Never Really Here, and a volatile, army veteran-turned-photographer in The Master.

Like his previous roles, his future movies promise just as much in the way of adroitness, mastery, and dexterity with Napoleon and Joker: Folie a Deux set for 2023 and 2024 releases, respectively.

Joaquin Phoenix Hasn't Won Many Oscars

Joaquin Phoenix in Inherent Vice
Warner Bros. Pictures

Much has been made of his friend and former collaborator, Paul Thomas Anderson being repeatedly overlooked by the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, with Phoenix very much alongside the director in the bracket of "awaiting recognition in the form of the gold-encrusted statuette." However, comparably, he’s neither someone that gives off the impression he’s fussed about critical acclaim. His portfolio doesn't require validation, with the proof being firmly in the pudding where his acting ability is concerned.

Phoenix and Indie Cinema

Joaquin Phoenix Her
Warner Bros. Pictures

Gladiator aside, whether it was a conscious artistic choice made by Joaquin Phoenix himself, or by a misinformed agent, he spent many of his formative years, and pretty much his entire career up until Joker, featuring in film noir, low-budget indie flicks, and in the Hollywood filmmaking wilderness.

Related: Joker: What Cemented Arthur Fleck’s Transition Into a Criminal Mastermind

Prior to his stint as the leg-throwing, unconstrained DC villain in all his boundless ballet dancing and smudged red lipstick glory, he wasn’t only a name that many were incapable of pronouncing, but a talent people could be forgiven for not knowing at all. Like most cinematic greats, Phoenix doesn’t have a completely unstained filmography, with a number of misfires like Woody Allen’s Irrational Man and Mary Magdalene. Yet, as Jordan Belfort exclaims in the rancid Wolf of Wall Street, "Don’t judge me on my winners, but on my losers as there are so few."

The venial Commodus broke him into the mold of the darkly attractive up-and-comer, and the waltz, incessant laughing fits, and the enigmatic infectiousness of Joker propelled him into a world-watching spotlight one can only imagine he wouldn’t have been too comfortable in. Yet, for all the sadistic gift of his Gladiator performance, and the irresistibly intense nature of his Joker rendition, it is on the small screen where his mark has been most profound.

In Spike Jonze’s Her, he’s a multidimensional, emotionally soft-shelled, stripped-back, and immediately disarming man, vulnerable and bearing a sincerity that isn’t quite like anything he had done before. Combine this completely reformed approach with his outing in Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here and Jacques Audiard’s The Sisters Brothers, where he plays rugged, roguish, and creased men of few words, and his history in pictures is astounding. Phoenix isn’t a man defined by his films, but a man who defines the films he is in.