(2005) Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon and Ginnifer Goodwin Joaquin Phoenix stars as country music legend Johnny Cash. From his meager beginnings on a cotton farm to his iconic 1968 performance at Folsom Prison, the Man in Black weathered many ups and downs - a childhood trauma, a failed marriage, drug addiction - but through it all found solace in his music and the true love of his life, singer June Carter, played brilliantly by Academy-Award winner Reese Witherspoon.