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.
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 18.889 |
Birthday | 1970-08-23 |
Place of Birth | Metolius, Oregon USA |
Also Known As |
1989
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
7.85/9992
In 1938, an art collector appeals to eminent archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. Indy learns that a medieval his...
Watch Now
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
1986
Stand by Me
7.854/5790
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four Oregon boys decide to go see the body. On the way, Gordi...
Watch Now
Stand by Me
1991
My Own Private Idaho
7.052/1106
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare's "Henry IV," Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor...
Watch Now
My Own Private Idaho
2005
The Phoenix Portal
0/0
In this trans-temporal science fiction, a young River Phoenix from the film The Explorers (1985) opens a wormhole to contact his older self in My Own...
Watch Now
The Phoenix Portal
1990
I Love You to Death
6.41/249
Joey Boca is the owner of a pizza parlour, and has been married to Rosalie for years. When Rosalie discovers that Joey is a womanizer and has been che...
Watch Now
I Love You to Death
1992
Sneakers
6.899/889
When shadowy U.S. intelligence agents blackmail a reformed computer hacker and his eccentric team of security experts into stealing a code-breaking 'b...
Watch Now
Sneakers
1986
The Mosquito Coast
6.362/465
Allie Fox, an American inventor exhausted by the perceived danger and degradation of modern society, decides to escape with his wife and children to B...
Watch Now
The Mosquito Coast
1988
Little Nikita
5.922/103
Roy Parmenter is an FBI agent in San Diego; 20 years ago his partner was killed by a Soviet spy, nicknamed Scuba, still at large. Scuba is now trying...
Watch Now
Little Nikita
1985
Explorers
6.195/446
Middle schooler Ben spends his free time watching sci-fi films, playing video games and reading comic books. Surprisingly, his affinity for all things...
Watch Now
Explorers
1993
The Thing Called Love
6.3/133
A group of newcomers to the country music business seek love and stardom.
Watch Now
The Thing Called Love
1991
Dogfight
6.9/121
In the fall of 1963, Eddie Birdlace is an 18-year-old Marine Corps volunteer who is about to ship out with three of his buddies for a tour of duty in...
Watch Now
Dogfight
1988
A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon
5/64
A recent high school graduate is faced with two options, either go to a business school where his father wants him to go to, or get a full time job. H...
Watch Now
A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon
1988
Running on Empty
7.5/303
The Popes are a family who haven't been able to use their real identity for years. In the late sixties, the parents set a weapons lab afire in an effo...
Watch Now
Running on Empty
1993
Silent Tongue
4.8/18
Mad with grief after the death of his Kiowa wife, Roe awaits death under a tree with her body beside him. She begins to haunt him because he won't bur...
Watch Now
Silent Tongue
1996
This Road Will Never End
1/1
A documentary tribute to River Phoenix stressing the impact that River Phoenix had on gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals.
Watch Now
This Road Will Never End
2000
Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand by Me
7.5/23
A unique look at the making of Stand by Me including interviews from Stephen King, Rob Reiner, Keifer Sutherland, Richard Dreyfuss, and the three surv...
Watch Now
Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand by Me
2003
The Making of ‘Sneakers’
0/0
Behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of ‘Sneakers’ (1992).
Watch Now
The Making of ‘Sneakers’
1985
Surviving
5/3
Lonnie and Rick seem to be complete opposites, at first glance. A survivor of suicide, Lonnie is introverted and ill at ease around her parents, Lois...
Watch Now
Surviving
2023
Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones & Harrison Ford
7.7/18
An in-depth look at an incredible moment in film history when Steven Spielberg and George Lucas assembled an amazing creative team to collaborate on a...
Watch Now
Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones & Harrison Ford
2014
Too Young To Die: River Phoenix
0/0
On the night of October 30, 1993, River Phoenix is set to play with his band at the Viper Room on Sunset Boulevard when he dies suddenly of a drug ove...
Watch Now
Too Young To Die: River Phoenix
1986
Circle of Violence: A Family Drama
6.7/3
Georgia Benfield, at her wit's end, loses control and begins physically abusing her elderly mother, just as Georgia had been abused herself as a chil...
Watch Now
Circle of Violence: A Family Drama
1984
Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia
8/1
13-year-old Brian has problems reading, which his teachers attribute to laziness. It is later discovered that he has Dyslexia.
Watch Now
Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia
2024
Joaquin Phoenix: An Actor of Extremes
6.75/4
The story of the rise to stardom of Joaquin Phoenix, an actor of magnetic physique, tumultuous past, socially committed, who for years has offered out...
Watch Now
Joaquin Phoenix: An Actor of Extremes
2011
My Own Private River
7.7/12
Unused footage from Gus Van Sant's 1991 film My Own Private Idaho is re-contextualized in James Franco's tribute to River Phoenix.
Watch Now
My Own Private River
2005
The Making of ‘My Own Private Idaho’
4.2/4
Making-of documentary of Gus Van Sant's 'My Own Private Idaho'.
Watch Now
The Making of ‘My Own Private Idaho’
1994
Truth or Dairy
0/0
This classic Vegan Society video remains one of the most entertaining and informative introductions to veganism. Viewers will learn why avoiding meat,...
Watch Now
Truth or Dairy
1992
Flea Master Session
0/0
StarLicks Bass Video-Tutorial / Includes 24 Page Booklet / Flea Interviewed By River Phoenix
Watch Now
Flea Master Session
2012
Dark Blood
6/22
Filmed in 1993 but never completed due to River Phoenix's death, Dark Blood tells the story of Boy, a young widower living on a nuclear testing site i...
Watch Now
Dark Blood
2020
Showbiz Kids
6.933/45
A documentary chronicling the shared experiences of prominent former child stars and the personal and professional price of fame and failure on a chil...
Watch Now
Showbiz Kids
2024
Child Star
8.4/5
Explore the highs and lows of growing up in the spotlight through the lens of some of the world’s most famous former child stars. Through celebrity in...
Watch Now