Joaquin Phoenix’s 10 Best Characters, Ranked From Most Heroic To Most Villainous

Joaquin Phoenix is known for his challenging and intense roles, never afraid to play a character who might not be easy for audiences to like. His latest movie, C’mon C’mon, shows that Phoenix can play those softer and warmer characters even if he is known for much darker roles.

Taking a look at some of Phoenix’s best characters, they are often very complex and layered figures, but it is also easy to see which lean more towards heroes and which are villains. These characters range from selfless and inspiring to evil and terrifying, showcasing Phoenix’s amazing skills as an actor.

10 Jack Morrison – Ladder 49 (2004)

Though not as popular or acclaimed as some of Phoenix’s other movies, Ladder 49 is perhaps the only movie in which Phoenix plays a straightforward hero. Given that he plays a firefighter in the drama, it is not entirely surprising how noble his character of Jack Morrison is.

The movie begins with Jack on a rescue operation that leaves him injured and in danger, then flashes back to the career that brought him to this moment. Throughout his journey, Jack is shown to be a great father and husband as well as a hero who is willing to give his life for his fellow firefighters.

9 Merrill Hess – Signs (2002)

Phoenix’s first movie with M. Night Shyamalan was the alien invasion thriller Signs. But while other movies of that genre might deal in grander scales with more obvious heroics, this movie looks at the smaller story of a family dealing with this threat.

As a result, Merrill is more of an everyman than an action hero who will save the day. However, he cares about his family a great deal and will do whatever he can to save them. In the end, he is even the one who takes down the threatening alien.

8 Joe – You Were Never Really Here (2017)

Joe in You Were Never Really Here seems like Phoenix’s take on a typical action hero. He is a former soldier who works as a freelance operative who tracks down missing people. While that might sound like a straightforward good guy, it is a much more layered character.

Joe is a severely traumatized individual who is not getting the help he needs. His violence directed towards the unsavory targets of his work might be justified, but he is also filled with simmering rage and violence at all times. However, he is also clearly someone who wants to do something good.

7 Larry “Doc” Sportello – Inherent Vice (2014)

Doc in Inherent Vice is one of the rare comedic performances from Phoenix as he plays a hippie private detective looking for his missing ex-girlfriend. Doc is not always the most competent of heroes as he gets easily sidelined in his investigation.

However, his heart is in the right place as he truly does care about seeing justice done and innocent people protected. He might not be heroic in the conventional sense, but he steps into dangerous situations for noble reasons.

6 Johnny Cash – Walk The Line (2004)

Phoenix’s take on Johnny Cash in Walk the Line is a character who doesn’t really fit into either side of hero or villain. The movie is an exploration of Cash’s life and career, showing him as both a sympathetic man, a troubled man and a terrific artist.

Cash does certain things in his life that are not easy to agree with. However, he also has very inspiring moments as well. In the end, he is a character who is human and his journey is one filled with good and bad.

5 Freddie Quell – The Master (2012)

Freddie Quell in The Master is another example of how Phoenix is drawn to those complex characters who are not always easy to define. Like Joe in You Were Never Really Here, Freddie is a troubled veteran with anger issues and violent tendencies.

These qualities can make him an unsettling character to spend time with as there is an unpredictability to his behavior. However, he is also sympathetic for how he is not always in control and it is rewarding to see him gain some independence by the end of the movie.

4 Charlie Sisters – The Sisters Brothers (2018)

The Western movie The Sisters Brothers stars Phoenix and John C. Reilly as two gunslinger brothers with a deadly reputation. Charlie Sisters takes a lot more pride in having people fear him and is remorseless with anyone he kills.

Charlie can also be cruel to his brother Eli at times but is humbled as the story goes on. Charlie even has a moment of mercy against a man who he once saw as an enemy, proving that there is a softer side to him.

3 Jimmy Emmett – To Die For (1995)

In one of his earlier roles, Phoenix played a manipulated teen in the true-crime movie To Die For. Jimmy Emmett is a young high school boy who becomes enchanted by a beautiful local weather reporter (Nicole Kidman) who convinces him to murder her husband.

The real villain of the story is Kidman’s character while Jimmy is a young and naïve person who is seduced by her. But while he might just be a pawn, the fact that he is able to carry out such a ruthless crime points to his own inner troubles.

2 Arthur Fleck – Joker (2019)

It was quite surprising to see Phoenix step into the role of Batman’s most iconic villain from the comics. However, Joker was a much different comic book movie than the genre’s usual offerings. Arthur Fleck is yet another character who is clearly troubled and unsettling, but it’s hard not to feel sympathetic for him at times.

The movie goes into great detail about his personal sufferings and the injustices he faced. However, after Arthur kills some men on the subway, something darker awakens in him and he becomes a much more dangerous man by the end of the story.

1 Commodus – Gladiator (2000)

Commodus is the most powerful of the characters Phoenix has played as he is the ruler of Rome. That makes it all the more terrifying that a man in such a position could be so evil. Commodus seems to be angry at the world and will kill anyone who stands in the way of what he thinks he is owed.

This results in him murdering his own father, ordering the murder of Maximus, and having Maximus’s family killed as well. He is a scary yet pathetic figure and Phoenix does a great job creating a villain that the audience loves to hate.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2040 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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