It's safe to say that the 'Joker' actor and his actress fiancee name their newborn son after the former's late brother, River, who died of drug overdose in October 1993.
- Sep 28, 2020
AceShowbiz - Joaquin Phoenix and his fiancee Rooney Mara apparently have entered parenthood. It's been reported that the couple, who allegedly got engaged in July last year, has welcomed their first child together. Russian filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky broke the happy news on Sunday, September 27.
During a Q&A session at the 2020 Zurich Film Festival, Kossakovsky explained why Phoenix did not attend the screening of "Gunda" in which the "Joker" actor served as the executive producer. "He just got a baby, by the way, his name was … a beautiful son called River, so he cannot promote it now," Kossakovsky told reporters at the event.
It's safe to say Phoenix named his firstborn after his late brother, River Phoenix, who died of drug overdose in October 1993. He was 23 at the time of his death. While Phoenix usually keeps things private when it comes to his personal life, he once got candid about his late brother in an interview with Anderson Cooper for an episode of "60 Minutes" earlier this year.
"I feel like in virtually every movie that I made, there was a connection to River in some way," the 45-year-old told the journalist at the time. "And I think that we've all felt his presence and guidance in our lives in numerous ways."
He then added that he and his family were unaware of River's fame at the time of his death as they "were so removed from the entertainment world." Phoenix elaborated, "River was a really substantial actor and movie star, and we didn't really know it. So during that time in which you're most vulnerable, there are helicopters flying over. There are people that are trying to sneak onto your land. Certainly, for me, it felt like it impeded on the mourning process, right?"
