Star of origin story for Batman supervillain takes top male acting prize at the
Academy Awards ‘We feel entitled to steal a cow’s baby’ … Phoenix’s speech in fullNine things we learned at the OscarsPeter Bradshaw: Parasite’s brilliant win is a portent of changeJoker star Joaquin Phoenix has won the best actor Oscar at the 92nd Academy Awards, for his performance as Batman’s nemesis. Phoenix was the overwhelming favourite, seeing off competition from the likes of Marriage Story’s Adam Driver and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s Leonardo DiCaprio.
Joker, directed by Todd Phillips, is an origin story for the celebrated supervillain, previously played most famously on screen by Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger. Phoenix’s version is an aspiring standup comic who has a disorder that causes him to burst into uncontrollable laughter at inappropriate moments, and who is obsessed with a talkshow host played by Robert De Niro.