Joaquin Phoenix has come a long way since his disturbing beginnings in the Children of God cult. He is now an Oscar-winning actor and a passionate vegan activist. After a brief stint as a child actor in the '80s, Phoenix began working with acclaimed filmmakers such as Gus Van Sant and Oliver Stone, eventually grabbing the attention of mainstream moviegoers in Ridley Scott's blockbuster Gladiator at the turn of the millennium.
Since then, Phoenix has cultivated an eclectic and impressive filmography, comprised of low budget indie flicks and mainstream fare. Accordingly, he has amassed a vast net worth of $50 million. Let's find out how he accumulated his wealth by looking at how much he was paid for these movies.
10 'Irrational Man' (2015), $6,030-$20,928
Before actors denounced Woody Allen, they were lining up to work with him. In fact, the filmmaker was so in demand prior to his downfall that actors were willing to be paid minimum wage to appear in his movies.
Notoriously, Allen pays even the biggest stars the SAG minimum wage, which is between $1,005 and $3,488 per week. Joaquin Phoenix starred in his 2015 movie Irrational Man, which took around 6 weeks to film, leaving him with a modest pay check of around $6,030-$20,928 in total.
9 'Quills' (2000), $375,000
An arty romp based on the life of the Marquis de Sade, Quills features Joaquin Phoenix alongside A-list leads Geoffrey Rush and Kate Winslet. Having beaten the likes of Jude Law and Guy Pearce for the role of Abbé du Coulmier, the then 25-year-old Phoenix was paid a modest, albeit still impressive, $375,000 as reported by Men's Health.
8 'Buffalo Soldiers' (2001), $700,000
One of Joaquin Phoenix's first leading roles, war movie Buffalo Soldiers is a blackly comic look at the experiences of a group of American soldiers in Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall.
While the movie gave Phoenix an opportunity to exhibit his comedic timing, it was unfortunately a box office flop, grossing a measly $2.3 million against a budget of $15 million. We're certain that Phoenix wouldn't have been too upset though, as he was given a princely pay check of $700,000 for the movie.
7 'Ladder 49' (2004), $850,000
Disaster movie Ladder 49 stars Phoenix alongside John Travolta as a pair of firefighters in Baltimore. Despite a budget of $60 million, Phoenix was paid $850,000, which is likely due to him not having achieved megastar status at the time. However, it wouldn't be long before the actor would be rolling in the big bucks.
6 'Signs' (2002), $1 Million
Possibly director M. Night Shyamalan's last movie before he became a parody of himself, and before Mel Gibson was exposed as a raging anti-Semite, Signs was a commercial success.
The movie grossed over $408 million at the box office, while Phoenix was paid $1 million, which certainly isn't bad at all for an actor who was still struggling to find his feet at the time.
5 'Her' (2013), Around $2 Million
While his salary for Spike Jonze's sci-fi romance Her is unknown, lead actors typically earn 9% of a movie's entire budget. Although Jonze is regarded as an indie director, he was able to gather a budget of $23 million for Her. Accordingly, Phoenix would have earned just over $2 million for his role as lonely introvert Theodore Twombly.
4 'Walk The Line' (2005), $3.5 Million
One of Phoenix's most acclaimed movies, Walk the Line saw the actor break into the Hollywood mainstream, with an Oscar nod to boot. Playing venerable musician Johnny Cash, Phoenix made up for his lack of physical resemblance to the star by awarding Cash a soulful gravitas that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
According to Republic World, he was paid $3.5 million for the movie, which grossed $187 million.
3 'Joker' (2019), $4.5 Million
Now the role that the name Joaquin Phoenix is synonymous with, Joker is the sixth highest grossing movie of 2019, raking in $1 billion at the box office. Despite its impressive box office performance, Phoenix was actually paid $4.5 million to play the title character, as reported by Cinema Blend.
While that figure is certainly beyond what most of us will ever make in our lifetimes, it seems meagre in comparison to the box office gross.
2 'The Village' (2004), $5 Million
There's no denying that M. Night Shyamalan has become somewhat of a meme-worthy joke in recent years, but he nonetheless pulls in A-listers for his movies. For his lead role alongside Bryce Dallas Howard, Phoenix was paid $5 million, which is surprisingly more than he made for Joker.
1 'Joker 2' (Upcoming), $50 Million
As fans eagerly await the Joker sequel, news has emerged of the jaw-dropping salary that Joaquin Phoenix is going to be raking in to reprise his role as Arthur Fleck. He is going to enjoy "the biggest payday of his career" with a salary of a whopping $50 million.
Though no release date for the sequel has been given yet, there are reports of at least 2 upcoming Joker sequels in the works.