"I'd like to play every type of character, but only once. I like to experience things."
River Jude Phoenix (né Bottom; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American musician, activist and actor, and the older brother of Joaquin Phoenix.
He became famous as a teen actor, but his promising career was cut tragically short when he died of a drug overdose at 23. Three of his younger siblings — Joaquin, Liberty, and Summer — have posthumously named some of their children after him.
Selected filmography:
- Explorers (1985)
- Stand by Me (1986)
- The Mosquito Coast (1986)
- Little Nikita (1988)
- Running on Empty (1988) — Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
- I Love You to Death (1990)
- Dogfight (1991)
- My Own Private Idaho (1991)
- Sneakers (1992)
- The Thing Called Love (1993)
- Silent Tongue (1993)
His works provide examples of:
- '90s Hair: He famously had long hair in the early 1990s, as shown in his roles and on the page image.
- Break the Cutie: Many of his roles.
- Book Ends: His first and last completed movies, Explorers and The Thing Called Love were both from Paramount Pictures.
- The Cast Showoff: Invoked when he sang (or played guitar).
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Phoenix wrote and recorded "Heart to Get" for A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon but it was only added on the Director's cut, years later. His band Aleka's Attic also appeared on the soundtrack for My Own Private Idaho.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed:
- Squall from Final Fantasy VIII was based off of him physically.
- Ash Rivers from Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines is also based on him, though he was rescued from his drug overdose by being turned into a vampire.
- What Could Have Been:
- He was planning to work on Interview with the Vampire two weeks after his death. The film is dedicated to his memory, and Christian Slater donated his entire salary to two of River's favorite charities.
- When James Cameron started to work on Titanic (1997) around the time of his death, he had River in mind to play the role of Jack.
