What Was River Phoenix And Keanu Reeves Relationship Like

During the era of their friendship, it wasn't remiss for dismayed reporters to pass comment on the similar anti-Hollywood uniform worn by the two stars, and it's easy to imagine them feeling like they were rebelling against Hollywood's rulebook together. As described by Empire, the two often sported "tattered jeans, a dishevelled jacket, and three-day stubble."

Both also became known for being generally weird, private, or even defensively abrasive during interviews — hardly shocking when the two stars were so open about their dislike of the "fame" side of the industry. Reeves once told the Los Angeles Times, "I don't want to be super-famous, man; that would be awful," while Phoenix once proudly mused that "My Own Private Idaho" would "get me off the cover of Tiger Beat," according to "Last Night at the Viper Room: River Phoenix and the Hollywood He Left Behind" (via Grantland). 

As recalled by Joaquin Phoenix, his brother was so sick of the more tedious aspects of promotion that he constantly found ways to mess with interviews. A notorious anecdote River told interviewers, such as those for Details magazine, was that he lost his virginity at age 4 but "blocked it out" (via Aleka). As Joaquin suggested to Vanity Fair, this was "a complete and total joke." He explained, "It was just f***ing with the press. ... because he was so tired of being asked ridiculous questions."

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