He was due to begin work on Neil Jordan's Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) two weeks after his death. He was to play the interviewer, Daniel Molloy, a role that then went to Christian Slater, who donated his entire $250,000 salary to two of Phoenix's favorite charities: Earth Save and Earth Trust. There is a dedication to Phoenix after the film's end credits.
His best friend was Keanu Reeves.
He disliked flying and traveled everywhere by car or train.
He and his brother Joaquin Phoenix are the first brothers to be nominated for acting Academy Awards.
Ironically, despite his reputation for healthy living, Phoenix smoked constantly. Peter Bogdanovich recalled: "He'd say about meat: 'That's not good for you, man, that'll kill you.' While smoking, he'd look at it and say, 'I know, man, I know.'"
He had a very close bond with Harrison Ford.
Phoenix had a lazy left eye. It caused him to squint and blink to center his iris. This action can be seen in many of his performances. It is most evident in Silent Tongue (1994), which he did not try to take responsibility for; he felt it contributed to the madness of Quality's character.
He was a committed environmentalist and bought hundreds of acres of rainforest in Costa Rica and Brazil, not to develop them but to protect them from being cut down.
His ashes were scattered on the family's Florida farm.
Nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty (1988), Phoenix lost to Kevin Kline for his performance in A Fish Called Wanda (1988). During the March 1989 Academy Awards ceremony, Kline and Phoenix were shooting I Love You to Death (1990). Sitting in the audience, Phoenix applauded enthusiastically when his co-star was announced as the winner.
His family named him River, inspired by the river of life in Hermann Hesse's classic spiritual novel "Siddhartha," and his middle name Jude after The Beatles' song "Hey, Jude."
Three of his nephews were named after him posthumously. His sister Liberty Phoenix gave birth to a son named Rio Everest Phoenix. Rio means River in Spanish. His other sister Summer Phoenix gave birth to a son named Indiana Affleck. River played Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). His brother Joaquin Phoenix has a son named River, carrying Phoenix's name.
The song "Transcending" on Red Hot Chili Peppers' album "One Hot Minute" is dedicated to River Phoenix.
Only a month before his death, he stated that he wanted to star in The Basketball Diaries (1995). The role was later played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
After working with him on The Mosquito Coast (1986), Harrison Ford personally recommended him for the role of young Indy in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). Ford stated that among the young actors working at the time, River was the one who most resembled him at that age.
James Cameron admitted that when he first began considering Titanic (1997) in the early nineties, River was his preference for the lead role. By the time the film was made, Leonardo DiCaprio was the right age to take on the role.
He was fluent in Spanish.
He was born in a wooden cabin in Oregon.
He was the brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix and Summer Phoenix.
The person he went to Johnny Depp's club with on the evening he died was the actress Samantha Mathis.
He accepted his role in The Thing Called Love (1993) both to showcase his musical talents (he sang, played his own guitar and wrote his character's songs) and to make the transition from teen roles to adult roles.
Natalie Merchant wrote a song titled "River" in his memory. Her song "Carnival" was also inspired by him.
Phoenix, who had played guitar since childhood, had his own band called Aleka's Attic with his sister Rain Phoenix.
His death ranks 16th among E!'s 101 Best Events in E! Television's 101 Most Shocking Moments in Entertainment.
He was a very talented writer, songwriter and sketch artist. He often wrote songs on his way to work.
The 1994 R.E.M. album "Monster" is dedicated to River in the liner notes; he was friends with lead singer Michael Stipe.
The summer before his death, River recorded an album titled 'Never Odd or Even' (the title is a palindrome), and it was released. A friend of his named Sasa Raphael (who worked with River on the album and played bass in River's band Blacksmith Configuration) nearly managed to make the album available for free download online in the summer of 2000, the anniversary of River's 30th birthday, but was subsequently sued for copyright by the River Phoenix estate.
He was James Cameron's first choice for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997).
River and his brother Joaquin Phoenix played the son of Richard Harris's character: River in Silent Tongue (1993) and Joaquin in Gladiator (2000).
The story that River's last words (to a reporter who tried to help him outside the Viper Room) were supposedly "No paparazzi, I want anonymity" is a fabrication, but the quote has become something of an urban legend. In fact, according to eyewitnesses (including a paparazzo who was nearby), River stumbled out of the nightclub and fell hard onto the sidewalk face-first (experts believed he probably died at that moment), then convulsed violently on the sidewalk for eight minutes without saying a word. And while that photographer chose not to film the moment, a day before Phoenix was cremated in Florida, a reporter entered the funeral home, rearranged the body and photographed it. That picture would later be sold to the National Enquirer for $5,000.
He auditioned for the role of Paul Maclean in A River Runs Through It (1992). He lost the part to Brad Pitt.
River's father was born in California. On River's paternal side there were English as well as Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, German, Irish, Welsh and French Huguenot ancestries. River's mother was born in New York to an Ashkenazi Jewish family (they were immigrants from Russia and Hungary).
He died on the same day as Federico Fellini.
Gus Van Sant had gotten Phoenix to agree to play the role of Cleve Jones in Milk (2008) when he planned to make the film in the early 1990s. The role was eventually played by Emile Hirsch in 2008.
Phoenix was set to star in Broken Dreams, written by John Boorman and Neil Jordan (with Boorman to direct) and co-starring Winona Ryder. The film was postponed because of Phoenix's death and has not yet been made.
My Own Private Idaho (1991) director (and River's close friend) Gus Van Sant published a novel in 1997 titled "Pink," a loosely disguised fantastical tribute to his late friend. Van Sant's film Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) includes a dedication to River in its opening credits.
One of GQ's 50 Most Stylish Leading Men of the Past Half Century (2010).
He ranked 86th on Empire (UK) magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time."
He is one of the few actors to have played both the son and the younger version of the same actor, playing Harrison Ford's son and young Indiana Jones. A few of these include Bruno Kirby, who played Richard S. Castellano's son in The Super (1972), and the young Clemenza in The Godfather Part II (1974). Logan Lerman played one of Mel Gibson's sons in The Patriot (2000) and the young Nick Marshall in What Women Want (2000).
Famous Brazilian singer and songwriter Milton Nascimento wrote a song in 1988 titled "River Phoenix (Carta a Um Jovem Ator)" ("Letter to a Young Actor"). Milton was greatly impressed by River's performances in The Mosquito Coast (1986) and Stand by Me (1986) and decided to write a song out of respect for his talent. When he learned of the song, he came to Brazil and spent a few days at Milton Nascimento's country house. After this first contact they became very good friends. On the track "Curi Curi" (Tsaqu Waiāpi) from Nascimento's 1990 album "Txai," River reads a speech he wrote himself protesting the destruction of the Amazon and the betrayal of its people.
His last performance was in the film Dark Blood (2012), which was cancelled three weeks after its completion.
He sings a song from John Frusciante's album "Smile from the Streets You Hold."
Gus Van Sant spoke after his death about another collaboration between the two that would never come to pass. He was asked, "You were going to make a film about Andy Warhol with River, weren't you?" Van Sant said, "Yes. River looked like Andy in his younger days. But that project never really moved forward."
He died on Halloween.
He was almost certain to play the role of Izzy Singer in Safe Passage (1994). After River's death the role went to Sean Astin.
Rufus Wainwright's song "Matinee Idol" is about him.
The band FenixTX's original name was River Fenix, but they had to change their name because of disputes over the rights to the name.
Anonymous Australian alternative rock band TISM (short for This Is Serious Mum) released a song in 1995 titled "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River," which dealt with celebrity deaths, particularly Phoenix's death and the drug habit that caused it. The song's main chorus, which reportedly angered members of Red Hot Chili Peppers, was "I'm on the drug that killed River Phoenix."
In late 1993 The Weird recorded a song titled "Phoenix Blues" as a tribute to River. A single was released in his honor on Earth Day 1994.
He has a total of six nephews and one niece so far. Rio Everest Phoenix-Asch (June 12, 1997), Indigo Orion Phoenix-Asch (November 9, 1999 - December 25, 2001), Leo Lord Phoenix-Asch (birth date unknown), Scarlette Jasmine Phoenix-Asch (July 2, 2001) - to his younger sister Liberty Phoenix, Indiana Affleck (May 31, 2004), Atticus Affleck (November 2007) to his youngest sister Summer Phoenix, and River Phoenix-Mara to his younger brother Joaquin Phoenix.
John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 38.
He is mentioned in Norwegian pop-rocker Morten Abel's song "River Phoenix."
He ranked 69th on Channel 4's (UK) list of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars (2003).
He appeared in two films about espionage released the same year: Running on Empty (1988) and Little Nikita (1988).
Before his death, he was in talks with director Volker Schlöndorff to star in a film based on a character study of the poet Arthur Rimbaud written by Henry Miller. Contrary to rumors, this was not the same as the Rimbaud project 'Total Eclipse', adapted from a play by Christopher Hampton, directed by Agnieszka Holland and starring Leonardo DiCaprio in 1995.
He once said, "Acting is like a Halloween mask that you put on." This proved prophetic, albeit unintentionally: he died on Halloween Day 1993. It was also the 53rd anniversary of the Hollywood Palladium, just a few miles east of Sunset Boulevard.
He campaigned for Bill Clinton in the 1992 US presidential election.
Son of John Lee Bottom and Heart Phoenix.
He appeared in a film selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically" significant: My Own Private Idaho (1991).
He died on John Candy's 43rd and final birthday.
He wanted to play Neil Perry in Dead Poets Society (1989). The role went to Robert Sean Leonard instead.
Born at 12:10 PDT.
Born on August 23, 1970, the exact same day as actor/comedian Jay Mohr.
I fell into acting but always really wanted to be a musician.
He collected baseball jerseys.
When his younger brother quit acting, River showed him the 1980 Martin Scorsese film "Raging Bull" and convinced him to return. He even persuaded his brother (then known as Leaf) to drop the nickname "Leaf" and go back to his own name, Joaquin.
He was said to be dyslexic. Because of this, to help spread awareness of the condition, he and his brother Joaquin took part in an after-school special program: Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia, for which both shared a Young Artist Award nomination.
He was a lifetime member of P. E. T. A. and a prominent spokesperson. He campaigned hard for the organization, appeared in public service announcements and even had his band's song included on P. E. T. A.'s benefit album. He even received the organization's Humanitarian Award in 1992.
After his death, he ranked 9th on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars (2006).