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A press interview with River Phoenix from August 8, 1993.
I ran across this interview, part of a publicity tour for The Thing About Love, which had just been released. Interviews included its star River Phoenix and the director Peter Bogdanovich, both of whom are gone now. With Bogdanovich it was a passing as a result of age and complications from Parkinson’s disease – but leaving behind a rich legacy and important body of work.
In the case of River Phoenix, it was a matter of gone-too-soon – twenty-three and just at the beginnings of what was certain to be a promising and brilliant career. Within an instant he became a cautionary tale and case of wrung hands and empty answers. Wretched excess does that – so does pressure – so does discomfort being thrust into the spotlight – so does insecurity. Actors sadly suffer from all those things – doesn’t matter who or when. It has always been my belief that actors are people who play life very close to the bone – public display of personal demons – vulnerability on view for scrutiny – running the risk of overwhelming idolatry or passive disinterest.
The public, at least in America, prides itself with putting the artist on a pedestal – only to tear that pedestal down once it’s discovered the artist has feet of clay.
Looking back on the career of River Phoenix, it was no surprise to many that he was wandering in the direction of wretched excess – even at the end of this interview, while the reporters were packing up, an overheard remark “he was high on something” and the answer, a somewhat smug retort; “yeah, high on life” probably spoke volumes about what was a giant red flag.
Of course, in hindsight those same people would invariably wring their hands and say “why didn’t he get help?”. The only thing more difficult than being an actor is being an actor in recovery – you spend your professional life dying to be noticed but when you need time to repair and get your life together, the peering eyes and center stage won’t let you.
But rather than run the risk of turning this into some sort of platform to discuss Arts and Addiction, it’s about River Phoenix the artist, the craftsman and his dedication to work and discussion of his latest (and last to be released) film – all done some two short months before his dead.
It’s in the spirit of the craft and not the pitfalls that this interview is being presented.
Caveat: a little tough to hear in spots because it’s done only as a record for reference, amid a lot of background chatter – but worth it if you’ve never heard River Phoenix speak candidly about his work before.
