Keanu Reeves shares his favourite memory of River Phoenix
Affectionately known as ‘the internet’s boyfriend’, Keanu Reeves has enjoyed a stellar career so far. A cult hero, Reeves has starred in an array of cherished feature films, including the Bill and Ted and John Wick movies, as well as blockbusters such as Point Break, Speed, and his most iconic of all, The Matrix franchise. His long career has seen the actor work with some of the best in the business, ranging from Al Pacino to Sandra Bullock. One of the most storied of these figures, however, is the late River Phoenix.
Both Reeves and Phoenix had similar stories in their youth, despite the six years between them in age. Both emerged from somewhat itinerant but creative backgrounds as two of the hottest young acting talents in the mid-late 1980s. After Reeves shot to fame with the first Bill and Ted film in 1989, and Phoenix won the hearts of viewers for his work in the 1986 coming-of-age drama Stand By Me, the pair eventually crossed paths on the set of the 1989 film Parenthood.
Recently, the most famous account of Reeves and Phoenix has emerged online. The pair were mentioned in starkly opposing terms by Friends star Matthew Perry in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. This anecdote went viral as Perry gushed about Phoenix and then questioned why Keanu Reeves was still alive.
“The list of geniuses who were ahead of their time is too long to detail here — suffice to say, near the top of any such list should be my co-star in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, River Phoenix,” Perry writes. “River was a beautiful man, inside and out — too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down.”
Then, out of nowhere, Perry takes a shot at Reeves. “Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us? River was a better actor than me; I was funnier. But I certainly held my own in our scenes — no small feat, when I look back decades later.”
A strange reminder of the close proximity between Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix – but were two actors actually friends?
Reeves and Phoenix went on to star in Gus Van Sant’s 1991 drama My Own Private Idaho together. Loosely based on William Shakespeare’s sprawling Henry IV and Henry V story, it follows Phoenix’s Mike and Reeves’ Scott as they embark on a journey of personal discovery that takes them from Portland, Oregon, to Rome, Italy, via Idaho.
The story goes that My Own Private Idaho encountered problems from the beginning. One of these was that Phoenix’s agent, Iris Burton, refused to let him see the screenplay, detesting the subject material about street hustlers after reading half a page. As Reeves was initially very keen to sign on after reading the treatment, and Van Sant was already aware of his kind nature, he suggested that Reeves directly try to convince Phoenix to sign on.
In one of the most famous demonstrations of his brilliance, Reeves jumped on his 1974 Norton Commando motorcycle and drove from his home city of Toronto 1,300 miles to Florida, where Phoenix’s family had a ranch. The two made a pact to star in the film together. “OK, I’ll do it if you do it. I don’t do it if you won’t,” Phoenix reportedly said. From then on, their friendship was cemented.
It lasted until Phoenix died following an overdose outside The Viper Room in October 1993.
How does Keanu Reeves remember River Phoenix?
Reeves has mentioned his friendship with Phoenix many times over the years. When speaking to Esquire in 2021, he discussed his late friend, stating: “He’s a—”, he started before cutting himself off. “It’s weird speaking about him in the past,” Reeves said.
“I hate speaking about him in the past. So I almost always gotta keep it present. He was a really special person, so original, unique, smart, talented, fiercely creative. Thoughtful. Brave. And funny. And dark. And light. It was great to have known him. To—yeah. Inspirational. Miss him.”
“I watched how Keanu grieved. And oh, did he grieve for his friend,” Reeves’ Speed co-star Bullock says. “He’s very private, but he couldn’t hide that. And just to see that a man like that was able to grieve. And I remember thinking, ‘God, if that’s the tip of the iceberg of his depth’, and his level of love and care for a friend—that just draws you in.”
Keanu Reeves shared his favourite story with River Phoenix
In a recent Reddit AMA preceding the release of John Wick: Chapter 4, Reeves engaged with his fans in the most enlightening and heartwarming ways. During it, he shared one of his favourite memories with Phoenix. However, He didn’t reveal too much information, letting fans do most of the work. The Reddit user asked him: “Hey Keanu! Can you tell us a fun experience you’ve had with co-stars while filming?”
“Can’t tell that story… can’t tell that story… can’t tell that story,” Reeves said. “I had a scene with River Phoenix, and he was sitting on the back of a motorcycle that I was driving while we were filming. It wasn’t extracurricular, but we went off the beaten path a bit and came back and no helmets. Just two friends playing. It was a really good day.”
