Photo
- Caption: River Phoenix as Mike Waters in ''My Own Private Idaho''
- Description:
It was around this time that River Phoenix became more entrenched as a rock musician, playing in clubs in and around Gainesville. He formed a band called Aleka’s Attic, which included his sister Rain, and through the music scene he met Suzanne Solgot who was with an all-girl punk band called Mutley Chix. Drugs were prevalent in this community of music and movies and they were becoming in increasing part of River’s life.
River was always on the lookout for roles which would challenge his acting talents to rise to a new level so, when he received the script for “My Own Private Idaho” from director Gus Van Sant, it was like manna from heaven. Though Van Sant never really expected Phoenix and co-star Keanu Reeves to accept the unconventional roles in what was sure to be controversial movie, they both signed on the dotted line after Reeves came to Gainesville to persuade River to do the movie.
River played Mike Waters, a narcoleptic gay male hustler, unsure whether or not he was homosexual, but very intent on finding his long lost mother in his own twisted way. Studio bosses were more than a little worried the impact such a role would have on an up and coming young movie star, though River was never the one to concern himself over his Hollywood image. One memorable scene in the film – bringing back memories of his scene with Wil Wheaton in “Stand By Me” – is when Phoenix and Reeves are sitting at a campfire and Phoenix’s Mike Waters declares his love for Reeves’ Scott Favor. To make it more believable, River re-wrote some of the dialogue for the scene.
In a superb follow-up to “Dogfight”, River was lauded for his performance in Idaho and he was the toast of the Venice Film Festival in 1990 at which he was awarded the Best Actor award. As with all his roles, River put in a fair amount of time researching his character which led him to, in Idaho, virtually becoming a street hustler in Portland for a time. It also inevitably led him into the drug scene once again and increased his dependency on them. - Actor/Actress/Director: River Phoenix ( photos )
- Movie: My Own Private Idaho
- Id: 11028786
- Share This Photo
- Add to My Scrapbook
- Upload a Photo
Talk while you gawk
Refresh
