Welcome to the industry
Phoenix was eight years old when he landed his first serious role, alongside his older brother River, on a television show called Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. At that time, he still went by the name Leaf and credited as Leaf Phoenix, and it would be another seven years before he decides to go back to his birth name.
This role was followed by several others alongside his siblings, an ABC Aftershcool Special dubbed Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia, the show Murder, She Wrote, where he starred alongside his sister Summer, as well as an individual episodes of Hill Street Blues and The Fall Guy.