Age: 51
male
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Known for his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric characters, particularly in period dramas, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2020, The New York Times named him one of the greatest actors of the 21st century. Phoenix began his career by appearing in a television series in the early 1980s with his older brother River. His first major film roles were in SpaceCamp (1986) and Parenthood (1989). During this period, he was credited as Leaf Phoenix. He began being credited as Joaquin Phoenix in To Die For, his first adult role. He received critical acclaim for his supporting roles in the comedy-drama To Die For (1995) and the period film Quills (2000). Phoenix received further critical acclaim and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Commodus in the historical drama Gladiator (2000). He had success with the horror films Signs (2002), The Village (2004) and the historical drama Hotel Rwanda (2004). He won a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of musician Johnny Cash in the biopic Walk the Line (2005). Following a brief sabbatical, Phoenix starred in the psychological drama The Master (2012), winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and earning his third Academy Award nomination. He gained praise for his roles in the romantic drama Her (2013) and the crime satire Inherent Vice (2014) and won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for the psychological thriller You Were Never Really Here (2017). For his performance as the titular character of Joker (2019), Phoenix won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He has since starred in the independent films C'mon C'mon (2021), and Beau Is Afraid (2023) and portrayed the title role in the historical drama Napoleon (2023). Outside of acting, Phoenix is an animal rights activist. A vegan, he regularly supports charitable causes and has produced several documentaries on global meat consumption and its impact on the environment.
I imagine that this fourth film would feature humans and it would take place after the events of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion Guard (if it is canon) and the story would be shakespearean just like the first two Lion King films and it would answer the question that everyone has been asking "What time is Lion King set in?". I was influenced by Once Upon A Forest, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Bambi (the half where he is adult and the sequences that involved man), Jungle Emperor Leo: The Movie, and those episodes of Babar (when he was a kid and featured the hunter) when I thought of this idea. The inhabitants of the Pridelands believed that humans are not real (just like with in Happy Feet) and they refer to the humans as watu.
