Joaquin Phoenix turns his back on acting?

Two-time Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix gave Extra the scoop yesterday, and his reps confirm. Phoenix told Extra, “Yeah. I’m working on my music. I’m done. I’ve been through that.” The Guardian UK points out that he won a Grammy for his work on the soundtrack for Walk the Line, but also reminds us that it’s not easy to quit a job that pays millions:

It’s not the first time Phoenix has turned his back on acting. In the 1990s, after establishing a fledgling career as a child actor under the name Leaf, he withdrew for a time to travel to Mexico and South America with his father.

Not unusual for a child actor to go on hiatus before returning as an adult, and as Daniel Day-Lewis has shown, taking a break from burn-out can be therapeutic for recharging the acting batteries. Whatever the reason and however long his absence, Joaquin Phoenix seems intent of following a different dream for now, and we hope he finds the all success and satisfaction he’s looking for. (Maybe all he needs is a break from director James Gray.)

What other actresses and actors have famously fallen off the Hollywood map to the stars? There’s Grace Kelly of course. Cuba Gooding Jr is another situation entirely.