"What would have become of the Phoenix brothers (Joaquin & River) "
Reading the most post about the role Joaquin great portrayal as a man with PTSD type symptoms made me reflect on how great of an actor his is but also how his career would rank next to River's.
I don't remember much about River outside his acclaim of his work and it's illustration of his potential. From my understanding he was thought to be a peer of Leo's, maybe a bit better.
He tied tragically and what could have been is all we can ask now. But River was thought to be the better actor between the two brothers.
If Joaquin was the lesser brother and was able to win an Oscar, how high up into the realm of great actors could River have climbed?
Would he have wen't Leo's more Hollywood route to acclaim or would he have been someone more like Johnny Depp, an actor who valued difficult work over commercial work?
It's all conjecture at this point but I thought it was worth bringing up.
1. "Leo came later..." In response to Reply # 0 Tue Nov-06-18 09:42 AM by gumz
He was compared to River after River's death because they look similar and were both talented young actors. I don't think anyone knew of Joaquin when River was alive either so it's not a case of him being the lesser brother. Joaquin found fame early and his siblings found it later. River was definitely a talented young actor but who knows how he would've turned out as an adult. He was more a peer of Johnny Depp's than Leo though. Him and Johnny were very close friends.
4. "RE: Leo came later..." In response to Reply # 1
>He was compared to River after River's death because they >look similar and were both talented young actors. I don't >think anyone knew of Joaquin when River was alive either so >it's not a case of him being the lesser brother. Joaquin found >fame early and his siblings found it later. River was >definitely a talented young actor but who knows how he >would've turned out as an adult. He was more a peer of Johnny >Depp's than Leo though. Him and Johnny were very close >friends.
Thanks for the reply.
For whatever reason those Leo / River comparisons stuck out in my mind and not the age difference. (thanks MTV journalism) I think River's popularity among girls as a heartthrob made me dislike him, although I loved Stand By Me. (what can I say, I was 13.) But I also wasn't particularly into film during my junior high years when he passed.
Good point about River's age as he found fame. He could have gone on to have something like Leo's or Depp's career or he could have been Haley Joel Osment. It's next to impossible to project the adult careers of child actors.
Looking at his Wiki page he was definitely complex. It wouldn't have been out of the ordinary if he would have turned into a movie star or went out, joined Greenpeace, and never was seen in Hollywood again.
2. "yeah, he's more a peer of Depp and Keanu" In response to Reply # 0
Like the other poster said, Leo came up much later.
I don't know. It seems like River's peers that went on to be A list actors did so with big box office hits. Whereas if you look at Jaquin Phoenix, it seems like he largely shows up in smaller films, and only occasionally shows up in the big movies. Even guys like Ethan Hawke probably only made it because every now and then he'll do a couple big movies to pay the rent so that he can afford to take a pay cut with the smaller films that he probably prefers doing.
So I don't know. I can't picture him going action hero but it seems like that might have been he's best shot at sticking around.
5. "RE: yeah, he's more a peer of Depp and Keanu" In response to Reply # 2
>Like the other poster said, Leo came up much later. > >I don't know. It seems like River's peers that went on to be A >list actors did so with big box office hits. Whereas if you >look at Jaquin Phoenix, it seems like he largely shows up in >smaller films, and only occasionally shows up in the big >movies. Even guys like Ethan Hawke probably only made it >because every now and then he'll do a couple big movies to pay >the rent so that he can afford to take a pay cut with the >smaller films that he probably prefers doing. > >So I don't know. I can't picture him going action hero but it >seems like that might have been he's best shot at sticking >around. >
You've gotta 'feed the beast' in Hollywood and the easiest way to do that for a man is to play the action hero. Maybe he could have gone the Brad Pitt route, someone who actually didn't play an action hero early on, and do interesting character work to sustain his career.
But I couldn't see him doing what Keanu did, appearing in The Matrix.
Interesting point you made about Joaquin's role choices. Does he do more idiosyncratic stuff if he isn't touched by grief? Or like you alluded to, does he get too involved in the Hollywood scene and gets sidetracked?
I can say that Joaquin's had a much more unique career than I would have figured him for when he did Gladiator. I'm not a big fan of his work, but he's incredibly talented and has had a nice run here over the last five years.
He's rightfully worked with great filmmakers, and he's choosing the right people to work with which is a big part of making memorable work, it seems.
Remember Matt Damon's big break (though he was around before) was Goodwill Hunting along with Affleck. That got him an Oscar right at jump. I think it's safe to say since they wrote it, it would have happened regardless of River Phoenix.
They might have ended up battling over the same roles, but I think Damon still would have done all right.