Joaquin Phoenix is appealing to fans and the media to pronounce his name properly. The heartthrob was born Joaquin, but changed his name to Leaf, before reverting back to Joaquin. And despite his ever-increasing fame and accolades, Phoenix is stunned so many people can’t pronounce the Spanish name. He says, "I was born in Puerto Rico and Joaquin is a Spanish name. 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. (The worse is) ‘Joe Wa-Keem’ – I have been called that a lot in Europe. I think there’s maybe a German or French name like that."
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