How Nicole Kidman relaunched Joaquin Phoenix’s career: “We fought for him to do the film”
It’s understandable that Joaquin Phoenix retreated from the spotlight for several years after the tragic passing of his brother, River. On Halloween night of 1993, the scariest moment of Phoenix’s life occurred when his sibling overdosed outside of the Viper Rooms club, leading him to witness his death as he sat on the pavement with him, calling 911.
River had already appeared in various acclaimed films like Stand By Me and My Own Private Idaho, and had received widespread praise for his performances. Meanwhile, Joaquin, four years younger than his brother, had only appeared in a handful of TV shows and movies by this point, with his most recent film credit before his brother’s 1993 death being 1989’s Parenthood.
It wouldn’t be unfair to say that, at least in the film world, Joaquin lived in River’s shadow, with the older sibling tipped for stardom while Joaquin was ready to give up the profession. He found himself inspired by River, though, who encouraged his little brother not to give up on acting. Yet, when tragedy struck, Phoenix became disillusioned, and he moved away from Hollywood, resistant to the idea of entering an industry of excess that had ultimately inspired his brother’s downfall and unfortunate death.
In 1995, however, Phoenix made his first adult appearance on the big screen, now in his early 20s and ready to star under the spotlight again. He landed a role in Gus Van Sant’s To Die For opposite Nicole Kidman, which proved to be a turning point in his career by demonstrating that he had clear talent and strong potential to become a star.
The director had already collaborated with River on My Own Private Idaho, but that didn’t mean he automatically had the part. If not for Kidman’s passionate championing of Phoenix to be in the film, his career might not have panned out in the same success-laden direction. In an interview with GQ, Kidman recalled meeting the young actor and knowing that he had a special something that couldn’t be ignored. “I remember Joaquin. It was just like, wow. And he was so young. He wasn’t Joaquin Phoenix. He was Joaq, you know?”
When director Gus Van Sant told her that “this kid’s really talented, you should see him”, she instantly agreed, and she did all she could to make sure that he was cast alongside her. “We fought for him to do the film, to get them to cast him,” Kidman explained. In To Die For, Kidman plays an ambitious woman named Suzanne Stone who plots the murder of her husband with the help of some high-schoolers, including Phoenix’s Jimmy, although it doesn’t take long for her to be suspected as an accomplice to the murder.
While Phoenix didn’t win any awards for his performance, it kick-started his acting career, and by the early 2000s, the actor had an Oscar nomination to his name courtesy of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. He has since racked up more impressive acting credits in everything from the moving technological romance Her to Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice, even winning himself an Oscar for his leading role in Todd Phillips’ Joker in 2019.
