Joaquin's name game

Joaquin Phoenix hopes fans and the press will learn to pronounce his name correctly. "I was born in Puerto Rico and Joaquin is a Spanish name," the Oscar-nominated actor says. "And when I came to the US, nobody could pronounce it. They would say, 'What's your name?' And I would say, 'Joaquin,' and they would go, 'Walk-ing? Walk-what?' And you know how kids always get bothered with that kind of thing. Like, 'No! My name is...' So it bothered me and so I changed it." Phoenix briefly changed his name to Leaf, but eventually reverted back. "[The worst is] 'Joe Wa-Keem' - I have been called that a lot in Europe," he says. "I think there's maybe a German or French name like that."



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