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"He was uncomfortable with the way that he was living his life and found the courage to deal with the disease," said a statement from his Los Angeles-based publicist, Susan Patricola. No further details were provided.
The next screen role for Phoenix, 30, will be hard-living musician Johnny Cash in the upcoming screen bio Walk the Line, in which he costars with Reese Witherspoon.
Joaquin's brother, River Phoenix, who was a young star, died of a drug overdose in 1993 at age 23. After following in River's footsteps as a child actor, Joaquin – who went by the first name "Leaf" in early movies including 1989's Parenthood – took a break from show business.
At only 15, Joaquin trekked through Central America by himself. "I was young enough that I wanted to explore...to grow," said Phoenix, who was born in Puerto Rico and grew up traveling around in a motor home with his missionary family.
Joaquin returned to acting in the 1991 short film Walking the Dog, but then again went on hiatus: After River's death, Joaquin took time off before playing Nicole Kidman's teenage lover in 1995's To Die For.
