His latest movie The Village has just topped the US box office charts but actor Joaquin Phoenix definitely won't be queuing up for his popcorn.

The famously shy star says he never watches himself on screen and hates listening to the sound of his own voice.

"If I watch myself I'm not satisfied," he explains. "I see things I've missed and talking about myself just breeds a self-consciousness which won't serve me in my work. One of the things that I always see in bad acting is a kind of a self-awareness.

"Actors who watch their own movies, read their own interviews, and look at pictures of themselves start pulling faces and doing things that they think are really good and interesting.

"I just try not to be self-conscious and forget about myself," he adds.

The silent approach certainly seems to be paying off as at the age of 29 Joaquin is now considered one of the finest actors of his generation.

He has rarely put a foot wrong onscreen with hit movies, such as To Die For, alongside Nicole Kidman, Signs, in which he appeared with Mel Gibson and his Oscar-nominated performance in the epic Gladiator.

Now the talented star has done it again with The Village, opening on Friday, August 20, another box office success from M Night Shyamalan, the acclaimed director behind supernatural hits Signs and The Sixth Sense.

Set in 19th century Pennsylvania, the movie also stars Adrien Brody, Sigourney Weaver and newcomer Bryce Dallas Howard.

Joaquin plays headstrong Lucius Hunt a member of a close-knit community who dares to venture beyond the borders of his village to try and take on once and for all the evil forces that lurk in the surrounding woods.

It wasn't just Joaquin's character who had to face his fears either - the brave star decided to get in the mood by spending a night sleeping in the woods, with spooky consequences.

"Three of us decided to do it and I went off to get some wood and when I came back they were gone," he recalls. "I sat around waiting and suddenly sticks would fly at me from the dark and there were some noises.

"I saw it a bit like junior high pranks more than facing my fears," he says not entirely convincingly.

Before filming began, the entire cast were also put through their paces by Shyamalan in a 19th Century boot camp by living together, ploughing the fields and living without any modern luxuries.

"It was a great opportunity for us to focus on the film and to not have any other distractions, to really get to know each other in character," he says. "There are some actors who really embrace each part and try to lose themselves in the part. Then there are others who are on their phones all the time.

"So to get all of us actors together in an isolated environment was really beneficial."

The bonding experience didn't always go to plan, however, particularly when it came to Joaquin's cooking.

"I made a pasta dish that no one ate," he smiles. "It was inedible though. A broccoli pasta, so after that I stuck to the ploughing. That's some work, no joke. Every muscle in your body hurts, so I didn't enjoy that either, but I remember seeing Sigourney out ploughing the field. Her time was up and she was like, 'No!' She really enjoyed it."

The star did, however relish the chance to team up once more with the film's director.

"We'd made Signs together just 18 months ago so it was great to work with him again so soon," he says.

"After that film we got to know each other a lot better.

"We've developed a kind of shorthand now, so he was able to tell when I was talking rubbish much easier than before, so that was actually a little intimidating," he adds smiling.

Though the movie is another winner for Joaquin, the talented star insists his career path has just been "pure luck".

"It's just about following your heart," he says. "I rarely know what I'm going to do next. I'm not one of those actors that has four or five movies lined up."

In fact the star took a complete break from movies following the death of his older brother River from a drugs overdose in 1993. Joaquin made the call to the emergency services, which was rebroadcast on radio and TV the world over.

The actor admits he still struggles to cope with the loss.

"I'll never understand why it happened," he says. "In the beginning I felt robbed of my memories because a public death is a really difficult thing to go through. People wanted to know things and you just feel so robbed."

After the tragedy Joaquin's first foray back into the film world was black comedy To Die For, which catapulted both he and co-star Nicole Kidman into the A-list. He hasn't looked back since.

Next up is Ladder 49, in which he plays a fire-fighter and then a complete departure with his role as country and western singer Johnny Cash in the forthcoming Walk The Line.

"It's the strangest experience," he says of the part, which will mark his screen debut as a singer. "It's incredibly vulnerable to go out there in front of a large number of people and sing. I have a much more greater deal of respect for singers now."

Even so, fans needn't expect a new all-singing, all-dancing, more vocal Joaquin Phoenix. As far as he's concerned silence is still the golden rule.

"When I work I stop communicating with my friends and family," he shrugs. "I just get completely immersed in the work."