Image of River Phoenix

River Phoenix

River Jude Phoenix (né Bottom; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor and musician. Phoenix grew up in an itinerant family, as the older brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix. He had no formal schooling, but showed an instinctive talent for the guitar. He began his acting career at age 10 in television commercials. He starred in the science fiction adventure film Explorers (1985) and had his first notable role in 1986's Stand by Me, a coming-of-age film based on the novella The Body by Stephen King. Phoenix made a transition into more adult-oriented roles with Running on Empty (1988), playing Danny Pope, the son of fugitive parents in a well-received performance that earned him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (at age 18, he became the sixth-youngest nominee in the category), and My Own Private Idaho (1991), playing Michael Waters, a gay hustler in search of his estranged mother. For his performance in the latter, Phoenix garnered enormous praise and won a Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the 1991 Venice Film Festival as well as Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead and National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, becoming the second-youngest winner of the former. Phoenix died at age 23 from combined drug intoxication in West Hollywood in the early hours of Halloween, 1993, having overdosed on cocaine and heroin (a mixture commonly known as speedball) at The Viper Room. Description above from the Wikipedia article River Phoenix, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Born:
Aug 23, 1970 In Metolius, Oregon USA
Movie/TV Credits:
39
First Appeared:
In the movie River Phoenix Ocean Spray Commercial 1982-01-01
Latest Project:
Movie Child Star 2024-09-17
Known For
Poster of Child Star
Poster of Sneakers
Poster of Evolution's End?
Poster of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Filmography
Movie Child Star Self (archive footage) (uncredited) 2024-09-17
Movie Joaquin Phoenix: An Actor of Extremes Self - Actor (archive footage) 2024-05-12
Movie Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones & Harrison Ford Self (archive footage) 2023-12-01
Movie Showbiz Kids Self (archive footage) 2020-07-14
Movie Too Young To Die: River Phoenix Self (archive footage) 2014-08-09
Movie My Own Private River Michael "Mike" Waters (archive footage) 2012-02-19
Movie Dark Blood Boy 2012-09-27
Series Too Young to Die Self (archive footage) 2012-07-14
Movie The Phoenix Portal Wolfgang Müller / Michael "Mike" Waters (archive footage) 2005-01-01
Movie The Making of ‘My Own Private Idaho’ Self 2005-03-01
Movie The Making of ‘Sneakers’ Self 2003-06-03
Movie Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand by Me Self (archive footage) 2000-08-29
Movie This Road Will Never End Self (archive footage) 1996-11-13
Movie Truth or Dairy Self (archive footage) 1994-01-01
Movie The Thing Called Love James Wright 1993-08-27
Movie Silent Tongue Talbot Roe 1993-01-28
Movie Flea Master Session Self 1992-01-01
Movie Sneakers Carl 1992-09-09
Movie Evolution's End? Self 1991-01-04
Movie My Own Private Idaho Michael "Mike" Waters 1991-02-01
Movie Dogfight Eddie Birdlace 1991-09-13
Movie I Love You to Death Devo Nod 1990-04-06
Movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Young Indy 1989-05-24
Movie Little Nikita Jeff Grant 1988-03-17
Movie A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon Jimmy Reardon 1988-07-26
Movie Running on Empty Danny Pope 1988-09-09
Movie Stand by Me Chris Chambers 1986-08-08
Movie Circle of Violence: A Family Drama Chris Benfield 1986-10-12
Movie The Mosquito Coast Charlie Fox 1986-11-26
Series Robert Kennedy & His Times Robert Kennedy Jr. 1985-01-27
Movie Explorers Wolfgang Müller 1985-07-12
Movie Surviving Philip Brogan 1985-02-10
Movie Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia Brian Ellsworth 1984-03-07
Series Celebrity Jeffie - Age 11 1984-02-12
Series It's Your Move Unknown 1984-09-26
Movie River Phoenix Ocean Spray Commercial Self 1982-01-01
Series Hotel Unknown 1982-08-21
Series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers Guthrie McFadden 1982-09-19
Series Family Ties Eugene Forbes 1982-09-22