Joaquin Phoenix Had Vanished—But One Underrated Role Changed Everything(Photo Credit –Facebook)
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Nicole Kidman played a quiet but crucial part in what became Joaquin Phoenix’s real beginning in the film. When he landed a role opposite her in To Die For in 1995, few outside the industry realized how much was riding on it for him.
At that point, Phoenix had been out of the game for a while, carrying the weight of his brother River’s death. It was a memory that burned deep into him since Halloween night of 1993, when River collapsed outside the Viper Room due to a drug overdose and never got back up. Joaquin, who was barely 19 at the time, was right there on the sidewalk, but he was helpless and dialing for help that came too late.
River was the rising star before that fatal night. He had some standout films under his name, including Stand By Me and My Own Private Idaho. Joaquin also stepped into the acting world by that time and did have a few roles in his belt, mainly in TV shows and films like Parenthood but he was far from a breakout.
River, with his talent and calm confidence, had always been the one tipped for big things. He had even encouraged Joaquin to stay in acting and not to give it up. Then came the loss, and everything shifted.
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Why Joaquin Phoenix Stepped Away from Hollywood
Hollywood, with its shine and shadows, became a place Joaquin couldn’t stand to look at. Subsequently, he pulled himself away from the glamorous, yet dark world of limelight and refrained from being part of the system that claimed the life of his brother. And he did disappear from the film completely for a while.
To Die For Marked Joaquin Phoenix’s Return to Film
However, that changed in Joaquin’s early twenties when Gus Van Sant offered him a part in To Die For, per Far Out Magazine, Van Sant had worked with River before, but that didn’t mean Joaquin was a sure choice. It was Nicole Kidman who really pushed for him. She met him and saw what others hadn’t yet seen clearly and fought for him to be cast. The film followed her character, Suzanne Stone, a driven woman with deadly ambition and Phoenix played Jimmy, a high schooler caught in her web.
The film didn’t hand him awards, but it gave him the foothold he needed. It was the spark that lit something lasting, and maybe none of it would’ve happened if Nicole Kidman hadn’t believed in him when the rest of Hollywood had forgotten.
