Joaquin Phoenix Gets Emotional, Credits Late Brother River For His Acting Career In His Speech
Joaquin Phoenix was honoured with Tribute Award at the Toronto Film Festivals inaugural Gala. He was dripping in nostalgia remembering his late brother and how he motivated him to pursue acting as a career. Joaquin Phoenix' elder brother River was 23 when died of drug overdose in front of his eyes.
Joaquin Phoenix¡¯s elder brother, River, was 23 when died of drug overdose in front of his eyes. The Joker actor was 19 years old at that time.
When Joaquin Phoenix was honoured with Tribute Award at the Toronto Film Festival's inaugural Gala, he was dripping in nostalgia remembering his late brother and how he motivated him to pursue acting as a career.
¡°When I was 15 or 16 my brother River [Phoenix] came home from work and he had a VHS copy of a movie called ¡®Raging Bull¡¯ and he sat me down and made me watch it. And the next day he woke me up, and he made me watch it again. And he said, ¡®You¡¯re going to start acting again, this is what you¡¯re going to do,¡± Joaquin Phoenix said in his speech.
For the unversed, River has appeared in 24 movies and tv shows. He began his career at the age of 10. River had acted in movies like Running on Empty (1988) for which he won an Academy nomination for Best Supporting role.
¡°He didn¡¯t ask me, he told me. And I am indebted to him for that because acting has given me such an incredible life,¡± Joaquin Phoenix added.
As he was bestowed with the award, Joaquin Phoenix was all emotional. He thanked everyone who helped him through his career and made him the man he is at the moment.
¡°I feel overwhelmed with emotion, because I¡¯m just thinking about all the people that had such a profound influence on me. When I was watching those clips, I thought about my family. My sisters Rain and Liberty and Summer, who are still my bests friends.¡±
He also thanked his father for instilling a strong work ethic in him, and added that Joker director Todd Phillips might disagree with that.
He also thanked his mother for being ¡°a constant source of inspiration. Everything I do is for her.¡±
At the end of his speech, he made a reference to his better half Rooney Mara, who featured in a movie called The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. She was present at the event.
¡°One last thing ¡ª somewhere here, I don¡¯t know where, is a filthy dragon, and I want to rip its wings off and fasten a blanket and sleep with it forever,¡± he said and added, ¡°I love you. Thank you.¡±
Apart from Phoenix, Meryl Streep and Roger Deakins were also honoured with the Tribute Award at the Toronto Film Festival.
Garima Satija leads the Entertainment vertical of Indiatimes. A storyteller at heart who enjoys the thrill of writing, she is sometimes found daydreaming about living the lives of movie characters. Also, she hates talking about herself in the third person.
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