Joaquin Phoenix is receiving strong reviews for his performance in Ari Aster’s “Beau is Afraid,” about a mild-mannered, paranoid man who confronts his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic quest. Tomris Laffly (The Wrap) writes, “Joaquin Phoenix delivers one of his best performances.” With Phoenix likely to be a contender in the Best Actor category next year, either for “Beau is Afraid” or Ridley Scott’s upcoming “Napoleon,” let’s look back at Phoenix’s four previous Oscar races.
His first and to date only Oscar win came in early 2020 when he took home the gold trophy for Best Actor for his portrayal in “Joker,” directed by Todd Phillips. (A sequel, “Joker: Folie à Deux,” is due out in late 2024.) Phoenix’ victory was a sure thing going into Oscar night after sweeping the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, BAFTA and SAG Awards. He never missed, and although Adam Driver also gave a great performance in “Marriage Story,” there was just no beating the overdue Phoenix by the time we arrived at the Academy Awards.
He had appeared in many award races going all the way back to the early 2000s, but Phoenix rarely won trophies before we got to “Joker.” His first time at the Oscars came in 2001 in the Best Supporting Actor category for “Gladiator,” directed by Ridley Scott. Phoenix had been strong in films before, especially “To Die For” in 1995, but his turn in “Gladiator” was a commanding villainous performance that put him on the awards map. He got in at all the precursor ceremonies, and he won the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actor for not only “Gladiator” but also “Quills” and “The Yards.” At most of these ceremonies and especially at the Oscars, he couldn’t overtake Benicio Del Toro, who won for his memorable performance in Steven Soderbergh‘s “Traffic.”
The closest Phoenix came to an Oscar victory before the year of “Joker” was in 2006 when he again popped up at all the precursor ceremonies for his hypnotic performance as Johnny Cash in “Walk the Line,” directed by James Mangold. He won the Golden Globe in the Musical or Comedy category, and then he made the Oscar final five for Best Actor. If Phoenix had been nominated for “Walk the Line” in a different year, he likely would’ve had a better shot at winning the Academy Award, but in that year the category was packed with acclaimed performances from Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain” and Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Capote,” the latter of whom won every major precursor trophy throughout the season. At least Phoenix got to watch his co-star Reese Witherspoon walk onto the stage and collect her Oscar for Best Actress.
The other Oscar nomination Phoenix received before “Joker” came in 2013 for his magnetic in Paul Thomas Anderson‘s “The Master.” Phoenix’s comeback film after a short absence from movies was a tremendous return to form, and awards bodies gave him attention right away. “The Master” was divisive for some, and so he didn’t get into every precursor ceremony — SAG, for example, overlooked his performance. But he got in almost everywhere else, finally making it into Best Actor at the Oscars. Alas, this was the year of Daniel Day-Lewis in “Lincoln,” and similarly like when Hoffman was sweeping for “Capote,” Phoenix had zero shot against Day-Lewis for his iconic turn as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s biopic.
A few other of Phoenix’s roles got him close to an Oscar nomination. After “The Master,” he returned to the Golden Globes a couple of times, the first time for “Her” and the second time for “Inherent Vice.” Both performances were acclaimed, but in those two competitive years, his work didn’t stand out enough to get into SAG, BAFTA or the Oscars. He was similarly excellent in 2022’s “C’mon C’mon,” but outside of Satellite Award and Gotham Award nominations, Phoenix couldn’t find any traction come awards time.
As we look toward the future, the question becomes, will Phoenix receive his fifth Oscar nomination in early 2024? He has a good chance, not for the newly released “Beau is Afraid” but for the upcoming “Napoleon.” The reviews of “Beau is Afraid” have been mixed enough to suggest that the film might not do well next awards season. Also, unless a film is called “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” it’s often difficult for a movie to be released in April and be able to hang on to the following year and rack up major nominations. “Beau is Afraid” might be an eventual cult classic, but it likely won’t receive any Oscar nominations.
The better shot Phoenix has at an Academy Award nomination next year is the epic historical drama “Napoleon.” The film reunites Phoenix with his “Gladiator” director Ridley Scott, the man who got Phoenix to his first Oscar nomination 22 years ago. The academy has a history of loving big-scale productions, and they’ve nominated lots of Scott’s films throughout the years, most recently “The Martian,” which made it into Best Picture. Stay tuned.
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