River Phoenix as a drama actor - discussion

River Jude Phoenix (born River Jude Bottom; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor, musician, and activist. He was the older brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix and Summer Phoenix.

Phoenix's work encompassed 24 films and television appearances. 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 a novella by Stephen King. Phoenix made a transition into more adult-oriented roles with Running on Empty (1988), playing the son of fugitive parents in a performance that earned him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and My Own Private Idaho (1991), playing a gay hustler in search of his estranged mother. For his performance in the latter, Phoenix won a Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival, along with Best Actor from the National Society of Film Critics. To this date, he and brother Joaquin Phoenix hold the distinction of being the first and only brothers to be nominated for acting Academy Awards.

On October 31, 1993, Phoenix collapsed and died of drug-induced heart failure on the sidewalk outside the West Hollywood nightclub The Viper Room at the age of 23. At the time of his death, Phoenix had been in the middle of filming Dark Blood (1993). More: en.wikipedia.org.