If River Phoenix hadn't died so young, how do you think he would have turned out?

The obsession on DL with this actor is insane.

Yeah he was on the road to being a Brad Refno more than he was on the road to being a Leonardo DiCaprio.

It’s like what they say about Aaliyah. Had she not died, Beyoncé wouldn’t have gotten as far. But Aaliyah’s new album was tanking until she died.

I think you’d be asking a similar question if he was still alive today.

R1, I think those of us who were "artsy" teens in the 90s were very, very drawn to him. Ditto Kurt Cobain. They were our larger than life spirit animals. We felt they spoke to us and about us.

Plus, River made My Own Private Idaho, which might not be shocking now, but it was shocking then. For someone that famous to play gay (and a gay hustler at that)? It made him a hero to many of us just as we figuring out we were gay too.

As to the question: I think he would have had ups and downs like most actors. Then he would have landed a franchise at some point in his 30s which would have ushered him firmly into the mainstream.

Pretentious, overweight and not attractive anymore

[quote]I never saw the fuss about him. His face was average,

Please! He's WAY more attractive than those British fugs that some DLers obsess over (e.g. Joe Locke, Tom Holland) who wouldn't have gotten leading man roles back in the day.

Besides, the real question should be... would Joaquin have returned to acting?

He became disillusioned with the business and retired at just15, after PARENTHOOD (1989) came out and was a hit.

River died of a drug overdose when Joaquin was 19 (1993).

Joaquin returned to acting at age 21 in Gus Van Sant's TO DIE FOR (1995) which got him noticed and set his career in motion.

It seems that Joaquin was the spare and was pushed front-center to take River's place after his death.

Luckily for the family, Joaquin succeeded far beyond their wildest dreams.

[quote]Plus, River made My Own Private Idaho, which might not be shocking now, but it was shocking then. For someone that famous to play gay (and a gay hustler at that)? It made him a hero to many of us just as we figuring out we were gay too.

For that movie, he unanimously won the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Awards, and was nominated for NYFCC.

Thus, there were many gays who were upset that he did not score an Oscar nomination.

A drugged out unable to remember lines whom hollywood turns their back on.

"His face was average"

Um... no.

He’s from a family of weirdos, so he would’ve become one himself. I picture him as being a manic version of Sean Penn.

He gave some beautiful and sensitive performances. Who knows if he could have continued but his body of work was impressive. He was a definite talent.

He was a great actor for someone so young. Dogfight is a favorite of mine. That last scene.

Why wouldn't he have gone on to great things?

Re: average...I would kill to be this average.

r11 I see so many young guys around the city who have this look. It's not anything special.

like this guy...

I would gladly trade Leo or Johnny Depp for River.

He died in his prime so we'll never really know. He will always be young, brooding, and beautiful.

Dead. by 35.

Old and eviscerated by DL for his weight gain.

He might have ended up like Heath Ledger (survived, but died at 28, vs. River's 23).

Or he could have ended up like Johnny Depp: financially successful, but struggling personally.

His parents got him involved in the "Children of God" cult. He said he was raped at age 4. Joaquin denies that, but River didn't retract that statement.

River said he was celibate from 10 to 14. Who calls themselves "celibate" at age 10?

I wouldn’t have MS

He wouldn’t be on Broadway, I’ll tell ya that.

You know why.

[quote]A drugged out unable to remember lines whom hollywood turns their back on.

Not necessarily. If RDJ could sober up and get his shit together, why not RP?

Johnny Depp 2.0

River was a better actor than Depp, IMO. And he was aging into some interesting parts. I think Sneakers, for instance, is a very underrated movie and shows how he might have developed into more adult roles.

I wonder what his willy was like

River Phoenix's sister Rain posts sweet tribute on what would have been late actor's 54th birthday

River Phoenix's sister Rain is remembering her late brother on what would have been his 54th birthday.

The Stand By Me and My Own Private Idaho star died of a drug overdose outside the Viper Room nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood on Oct. 31, 1993. He was 23 years old. Two of his four younger siblings, Rain and actor Joaquin Phoenix, star of the upcoming Joker: Folie à Deux, were also at the venue.

In her post, Rain shared a quote attributed to her late brother: "We're all worth it man. We're all worth millions of planets and stars and galaxies."

She captioned the post simply, "Happy Birthday River," punctuated with a blue heart.

Despite his youth, Phoenix was already an accomplished actor when he died. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role as a teen coping with his family's life as fugitives in Running on Empty (1989). He was also lauded for his work alongside Keanu Reeves in the Gus Van Sant movie My Own Private Idaho (1992), winning the year's Venice Film Festival award for best actor.

I'm gonna say older.

He would have been Liza Minnelli’s caregiver.

Or like Joaquin and quitting movies two days before they started filming.

Or in some strange cult like Scientology.

Or married to a Courtney Love or Nancy Spurgeon type.

[quote] It’s like what they say about Aaliyah. Had she not died, Beyoncé wouldn’t have gotten as far. But Aaliyah’s new album was tanking until she died.

Aaliyah's album was not 'tanking.' It was highly-anticipated and charted way higher than any of her prior projects, debuting at No. 2 on the Hot 100 with one video and no charting songs. It would have course-corrected with the release of subsequent radio-friendly tracks -- "Rock The Boat", " Never No More" and "I Care 4 U." Aaliyah was prepared to credibly expand into acting with "Queen of the Damned" in post-production and the "The Matrix" sequels and Whitney Houston's "Sparkle" up next for her. I am not sure about the impact on Beyonce but many moderately successful wannabes sprang up after her death -- Ashanti, Ciara, Keri Hilson, etc. Aaliyah had many fans -- including Jay-Z -- and was beloved in the industry. I also think R. Kelly's fall would have occurred at least a decade sooner if she had lived.

I suspect it would be along the lines of "WHET River Phoenix" by now.

He would be the go-to scholar for all of Thelma Ritter’s films.

River was a great actor who would have built a phenomenal body of work, but only if he sobered up completely and got away from his druggie friends.

Probably the same as his opportunist, ugly brother Joaquin or however you spell it.

I don't give a shit about boo-hooing "stars" who died early and speculating what might have been.

River was miles more intelligent and thoughtful than Johnny Depp. River was always more in the RDJ upper echelon of talent and intelligence, and had he lived, my hunch is that he would followed a trajectory similar to RDJ's. That's why I get so sad when I think of him. He'd be a happy, if scarred, middled-aged artist.

Does anyone know why River bore no resemblance to the other Phoenix kids? Was he fathered by another man?

R34 Joaquin looked almost exactly like River when he was a teenager, other than having more intense eyes. I wouldn’t say River looked strikingly different from his siblings.

Joaquin looked nothing like River! Rain looks like Joaquin's twin.

[quote]It’s like what they say about Aaliyah. Had she not died, Beyoncé wouldn’t have gotten as far. But Aaliyah’s new album was tanking until she died.

Beyonce was already pretty big at the time Aaliyah died.