“River and I would talk about being old, being in our 50s together, how it’d probably take us that long to get to work together. There was something gorgeous about us being old together. River will be missed - period. I mean now, more than ever I wish I could talk to him.”
-Joaquin Phoenix
River photographed by Brice Weber for Vogue US, 1990.
Première: Are you satisfied with what you've achieved at this point in your career? River : Honestly, I don't think this way. I never think of me as an actor. I see all of this as new experiences each time, like as many different lives. As many reincarnations. So when I watch my last movie, I'm unable to judge or to be critical. For me, it's past, and I don't feel any connection to it anymore, like if it was somebody else than me that I'm not responsible for. I immersed myself in another life that the character appropriated. He expressed himself through me, not the other way around. Première : It sounds like you've always taken care to separate your private life from your actor's work... River : Absolutely. Quite often, when actors have such a strong charisma in real life, eventually it has to affect the characters they play. For myself I'm not charismatic in that way. I'm not a "performer". Ideally I would stay mute as River. That's the reason why, for a long time, I've said the opposite of what I really thought. In interviews, I've also played characters that I wasn't. I've lied and often contradicted myself to dumbfound people. It's all over now, because I have nothing left to hide. Eventually, I'm quite an ordinary person. - By Jean-Paul Chaillet for Premiere, October 1993.
River photographed by Brice Weber for Vogue US, 1990.
"People connected with him really deeply. In this world of teen idols — where everyone feels polished — he was a beautiful boy and wonderful actor, but there was a degree of eccentricity and sense of being an outsider. People bonded with him. They thought he was trying to make the world a better place and not trying to book his next job." - Gavin Edwards, author of "Last Night at the Viper Room".
Two days until his birthday💓
"As I watched River do his work, I was impressed by his generosity with the other actors. He was never competitive. In dailies, I would often notice that Jadrian Steele, the actor who played River’s younger brother, would try to place himself in a prominent position on-screen. River always seemed to hang back to the furthest recesses. But the more he stepped out of frame, the more your eyes were drawn to him. There is a certain breed of actor who can show you everything they’re thinking without uttering a word. They are like emotional gladiators, nakedly putting themselves on the line so the audience can achieve a catharsis. But they’re more than thin-skinned - they almost have no outer coating at all. With their heightened sensitivity, they walk through the world like someone with a hearing disorder - everything is a clattering phantasmagoria to them because they feel too intensely to have a normal life." - Reid Rosefelt
"His attitude towards gay rights as an actor, people like that he would do what he could to support them. Although sexuality for him wasn’t an issue, he knew that it was a big issue and there was a lot of discrimination within film, within every walk of life which he thought it was just ridiculous. The fan letters that I would show to him, especially the ones to do with ‘Idaho’ from people that came out were just very touching, and really emotional. River was very touched by the fans, quite moved. For ones I remember was just saying, ‘Thank you. I’ve come out, It wasn’t as hard as I thought and you gave me the confidence to do that. And my life has changed, thank you.” - Abigail Greenberg
