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Joaquin Phoenix Quitting Films

After a rash of tabloid speculation over the seriousness of the "I'm quitting" comments that actor Joaquin Phoenix made last week while speaking with a reporter from Extra at a fundraiser in San Francisco, it has just been confirmed that the longtime actor is indeed quitting the movie business.

Phoenix, the younger brother of the late actor River Phoenix, was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award in 2005 and won a Golden Globe award for his incredibly moving and true-to-form portrayal of Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line. At the weekend premiere of Two Lovers, which will be Phoenix's final film, the actor sported the words "Good" and "Bye" scrawled across his knuckles. His publicist also confirmed on Friday that Phoenix would instead turn his attention to his musical career.

The 34-year-old actor stated that it was time for him to move on and to rediscover something else, a reference to his renewed interest in the music business. He has directed music videos in the past and learned to play guitar and did his own singing in Walk the Line. Two Lovers, in which Phoenix plays a man torn between the affections of his neurotic neighbor (Gwyneth Paltrow) and the woman his parents want him to marry (Vinessa Shaw), is due in theaters early next year.

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
11.03.08