This post has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone can create a post or quiz. Try making your own!

Posted on Oct 28, 2013

The Top 10 Roles River Phoenix Ever Played (Or Would Have)

Gavin Edwards, author of Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind, lists his favorite roles that River Phoenix played—and the roles he might have played had his life not been cut tragically short at the age of 23 on Halloween, 1993.

by HarperCollins

Community Brand Publisher

River Phoenix's most acclaimed role was as a narcoleptic street hustler vainly searching for his mother. "We got to watch River light himself on fire," Ethan Hawke said of this role. — youtube

River Phoenix's most acclaimed role was as a narcoleptic street hustler vainly searching for his mother. "We got to watch River light himself on fire," Ethan Hawke said of this role.

youtube

River Phoenix's most acclaimed role was as a narcoleptic street hustler vainly searching for his mother. "We got to watch River light himself on fire," Ethan Hawke said of this role.

Phoenix winningly played the young Indiana Jones in the prologue to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade—if he had lived, wouldn't people have wanted to see him as a young swashbuckler? (Anything would have been an improvement on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.) — youtube

Phoenix winningly played the young Indiana Jones in the prologue to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade—if he had lived, wouldn't people have wanted to see him as a young swashbuckler? (Anything would have been an improvement on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.)

youtube

Phoenix winningly played the young Indiana Jones in the prologue to Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade—if he had lived, wouldn't people have wanted to see him as a young swashbuckler? (Anything would have been an improvement on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.)

Phoenix's most nuanced performance, as a Marine about to ship out to Vietnam in 1963, aching to make a human connection on his one night off in San Francisco. — youtube.com

Phoenix's most nuanced performance, as a Marine about to ship out to Vietnam in 1963, aching to make a human connection on his one night off in San Francisco.

youtube.com

Phoenix's most nuanced performance, as a Marine about to ship out to Vietnam in 1963, aching to make a human connection on his one night off in San Francisco.

After Phoenix died, Leonardo DiCaprio appeared in two movies that had been attached to him: Total Eclipse and The Basketball Diaries. With similar looks and approaches to their work, DiCaprio in many ways had the career that Phoenix might have: if Phoenix had lived, he would have been competing with DiCaprio for many roles, including the one that made him a global superstar. — youtube.com

After Phoenix died, Leonardo DiCaprio appeared in two movies that had been attached to him: Total Eclipse and The Basketball Diaries. With similar looks and approaches to their work, DiCaprio in many ways had the career that Phoenix might have: if Phoenix had lived, he would have been competing with DiCaprio for many roles, including the one that made him a global superstar.

youtube.com

After Phoenix died, Leonardo DiCaprio appeared in two movies that had been attached to him: Total Eclipse and The Basketball Diaries. With similar looks and approaches to their work, DiCaprio in many ways had the career that Phoenix might have: if Phoenix had lived, he would have been competing with DiCaprio for many roles, including the one that made him a global superstar.

DiCaprio grew up idolizing Phoenix, but encountered him in person only once, on the last night of Phoenix's life. If they had become friendly rivals, the acme of that relationship would have been in Martin Scorsese's The Departed: if Phoenix played Matt Damon's role of Colin, the doppelganger relationship between the two leads would have only been enhanced. — youtube.com

DiCaprio grew up idolizing Phoenix, but encountered him in person only once, on the last night of Phoenix's life. If they had become friendly rivals, the acme of that relationship would have been in Martin Scorsese's The Departed: if Phoenix played Matt Damon's role of Colin, the doppelganger relationship between the two leads would have only been enhanced.

youtube.com

DiCaprio grew up idolizing Phoenix, but encountered him in person only once, on the last night of Phoenix's life. If they had become friendly rivals, the acme of that relationship would have been in Martin Scorsese's The Departed: if Phoenix played Matt Damon's role of Colin, the doppelganger relationship between the two leads would have only been enhanced.

Phoenix's breakthrough movie was released as he turned sixteen years old: he was riveting as Chris Chambers, a good-hearted kid from the wrong side of the tracks. — youtube.com

Phoenix's breakthrough movie was released as he turned sixteen years old: he was riveting as Chris Chambers, a good-hearted kid from the wrong side of the tracks.

youtube.com

Phoenix's breakthrough movie was released as he turned sixteen years old: he was riveting as Chris Chambers, a good-hearted kid from the wrong side of the tracks.

In this drama about an American family in the South American jungle, the teenage Phoenix showed he was a gifted actor who could command the viewer's attention, even playing opposite stars such as Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. — youtube.com

In this drama about an American family in the South American jungle, the teenage Phoenix showed he was a gifted actor who could command the viewer's attention, even playing opposite stars such as Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

youtube.com

In this drama about an American family in the South American jungle, the teenage Phoenix showed he was a gifted actor who could command the viewer's attention, even playing opposite stars such as Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren.

Phoenix's closest artistic collaboration was with Van Sant, the director of My Own Private Idaho. He was slated for a role in Milk, if he had lived—and he even bleached his hair to play Andy Warhol in a biopic that Van Sant never made. — youtube.com

Phoenix's closest artistic collaboration was with Van Sant, the director of My Own Private Idaho. He was slated for a role in Milk, if he had lived—and he even bleached his hair to play Andy Warhol in a biopic that Van Sant never made.

youtube.com

Phoenix's closest artistic collaboration was with Van Sant, the director of My Own Private Idaho. He was slated for a role in Milk, if he had lived—and he even bleached his hair to play Andy Warhol in a biopic that Van Sant never made.

Ideally, Phoenix and Van Sant would have become a longrunning actor/director team, making all sorts of movies, some commercial, some experimental, some both. If he had taken the place of Casey Affleck or Matt Damon in this film (both played characters called "Gerry"), it might have transformed this meandering journey through a desert into a more enduring film. — youtube.com

Ideally, Phoenix and Van Sant would have become a longrunning actor/director team, making all sorts of movies, some commercial, some experimental, some both. If he had taken the place of Casey Affleck or Matt Damon in this film (both played characters called "Gerry"), it might have transformed this meandering journey through a desert into a more enduring film.

youtube.com

Ideally, Phoenix and Van Sant would have become a longrunning actor/director team, making all sorts of movies, some commercial, some experimental, some both. If he had taken the place of Casey Affleck or Matt Damon in this film (both played characters called "Gerry"), it might have transformed this meandering journey through a desert into a more enduring film.

In this Sidney Lumet film, Phoenix played a prodigy pianist with secrets: his family are '60s radicals always on the lam. It earned him his first Academy Award nomination—had he lived, many more would have likely followed.
ABOUT THE BOOK: In Last Night at the Viper Room, bestselling author and journalist Gavin Edwards toggles between the tragic events at the Viper Room in West Hollywood on Halloween 1993 and the story of an extraordinary life. The book is part biography, part cultural history of the 1990s, and part celebration of River Phoenix, a Hollywood icon gone too soon. — youtube

In this Sidney Lumet film, Phoenix played a prodigy pianist with secrets: his family are '60s radicals always on the lam. It earned him his first Academy Award nomination—had he lived, many more would have likely followed.
ABOUT THE BOOK: In Last Night at the Viper Room, bestselling author and journalist Gavin Edwards toggles between the tragic events at the Viper Room in West Hollywood on Halloween 1993 and the story of an extraordinary life. The book is part biography, part cultural history of the 1990s, and part celebration of River Phoenix, a Hollywood icon gone too soon.

youtube

In this Sidney Lumet film, Phoenix played a prodigy pianist with secrets: his family are '60s radicals always on the lam. It earned him his first Academy Award nomination—had he lived, many more would have likely followed.
ABOUT THE BOOK: In Last Night at the Viper Room, bestselling author and journalist Gavin Edwards toggles between the tragic events at the Viper Room in West Hollywood on Halloween 1993 and the story of an extraordinary life. The book is part biography, part cultural history of the 1990s, and part celebration of River Phoenix, a Hollywood icon gone too soon.

Share This Article