Joaquin Rafael Phoenix (; ne Bottom; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor, producer, and activist. For his work as an actor, Phoenix has received a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and has three Academy Award and British Academy Film Award nominations. Phoenix started acting in television shows with his brother River Phoenix and sister Summer Phoenix.

During the comeback portion of his career, Phoenix went back to his given name Joaquin and was often cast in supporting roles as conflicted, insecure characters with a dark side. In 1995, he co-starred in To Die For, as the disturbed young man Jimmy who gets seduced by Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman) to commit murder. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the film was screened out of competition at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival and became a financial and critical success, resulting in a domestic box office total of $21 million. New York Times critic Janet Maslin praised Phoenix's performance, writing "So pity poor Jimmy. Rivetingly played by Mr. Phoenix with a raw, anguished expressiveness that makes him an actor to watch for, Jimmy is both tempted and terrified by Suzanne's slick amorality. In that, he speaks for us all."  In 1997, Phoenix played a small-town troublemaker in Oliver Stone's U Turn, and a poor man in love with a rich woman in Inventing the Abbotts. The films were received with mostly mixed and negative reviews, respectively, and neither performed well at the box office.  The following year, Phoenix starred in Clay Pigeons (1998) as a young man in a small town who befriends a serial killer. Budgeted at $8 million, the film became a box office flop, grossing only $1 million and was, like Phoenix's previous projects, not well received by critics.  In his next film, 8mm (1999), Phoenix co-starred as an adult video store employee who helps Tom Welles (Nicolas Cage) penetrate the underworld of illegal pornography. The film turned out be a box office success, grossing $96 million worldwide, but found few admirers among critics.

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what followed this flop?