• Name: River Phoenix
  
• Birth Name: River Jude Bottom
  
• Height: 5'11"
  
• Sex: M
  
• Nationality: American
  
• Birth Date: August 23, 1970
  
• Birth Place: Madras, Oregon, USA
  
• Profession: actor, musician
  
• Place of Death: October 31, 1993
  
• Death Date: Hollywood, California, USA
  
• Death Cause: drug-induced heart failure
  
• Father: John Bottom Amram (former landscaper; former Children of God archbishop of Venezuela and the Caribbean Islands)
  
• Mother: Arlyn Dunitz Jochebed (former migrant fruit picker; former independent Christian missionary)
  
• Sister: Summer Joy Phoenix (actress; born on December 10 1978) Libertad Mariposa Phoenix (actress; born on July 5 1976) Rain Joan of Arc Phoenix (actress; born March 31 1973)
  
• Brother: Joaquin Phoenix (actor, born on October 28, 1974)
  

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River Phoenix Filmography

• "When I was in first grade, everyone made fun of my name, of course. I think it's kind of a big name to hold up when you're nine years old. It seemed goofy. I used to tell people I wanted to change the world and they use to think, 'This kid's really weird.' ".
• "We are taught to consume. And that's what we do. But if we realized that there really is no reason to consume, that it's just a mind set, that it's just an addiction, then we wouldn't be out there stepping on people's hands climbing the corporate ladder of success."
• "It still strikes me as strange that anyone could have any moral objection to someone else's sexuality. It's like telling someone else how to clean their house."
• "If I have some celebrity, I hope I can use it to make a difference. The true social reward is that I can speak my mind and share my thoughts about the environment and civilization itself. There's so much shit happening with people who are exploiting their positions and creating a lot of negativity."
• "I wouldn't eat a hamburger for 40,000 dollars."
• "I would rather quit while I was ahead. There's no need in overstaying your welcome."
• "I would just look at Harrison: he would do stuff and I would not mimic it, but interpret it younger. Mimicking is a terrible mistake that many people make when they play someone younger, or with an age difference. Mimicking doesn't interpret true because you can't just edit it around." - on his interpretation of a young Indiana Jones in 'Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade'
• "I wish sometimes I wasn't as conscientious as I am."
• "I project a definite innocence. A lot of that is just the way I grew up."
• "I love Sam Shepard, he is like a father to me. We don't even have to talk, we communicate without words"
• "I like girls who are natural because I am natural in everything I do. If I meet a girl who is snobby and wants special treatment, she's not going to get it from me because she hasn't earned it. But i've been basically lucky because i've met mostly nice girls--and that's what attracts me."
• "I just always loved the names Helen or Ashley, I don't know, they seem familar to me, like I need to be with them..."
• "I feel that there are great minds up there who would like to see what I can do with an Oscar nomination. I guess many people would change after a nomination in the way they see things. In my case it's really irrelevant in terms of what I do. Still, it was an incredible experience which I will put in my memories, like everything else." (on his Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for 'Running On Empty' in 1989.)
• "He was my brother and I loved him a great deal. It was just an awful, awful mistake. We fed off each other and learned a lot from each other." (R.E.M singer Michael Stipe, speaking soon after River's death. He later called River's passing "The most shattering experience of my life.")
• "Everything is ironic to me. There are moments I find hysterical, but I'm probably the only one who would find that, except for a few people."
• "Everyday of my life since I finished 'My Own Private Iadho', at some point in the day, I find the conversation somehow goes back to that film, because it was just such a great experience. I just start getting all joyous and start babbling about it.." (on his feelings about 'My Own Private Idaho' just after the films release in 1991.)
• "Commercials were too phony for me. I just didn't like selling products I didn't believe in."
• "Animals are not our playthings. We are on this earth to protect them. It's our duty."
• "Acting is like a Halloween mask that you put on."

• Independent Spirit Awards: Best Male Lead, MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (1992)
• National Society of Film Critics Awards: Best Actor, MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (1992)
• Venice Film Festival: Volpi Cup - Best Actor, MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (1991)
• National Board of Review: Best Supporting Actor, RUNNING ON EMPTY (1988)
• Young Artist Awards: Best Young Male Superstar in Motion Pictures, THE MOSQUITO COAST (1988)
• Young Artist Awards: Jackie Coogan Award, STAND BY ME (1987)
• Young Artist Awards: Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Special or Mini-Series, SURVIVING (1986)
• Young Artist Awards: Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor - Motion Picture, EXPLORERS (1986)
• Young Artist Awards: Best Young Actor in a Drama Series for Seven Brides, SEVEN BROTHERS (1984)

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River Phoenix Filmography