“Most actors possess an intuitive side. Actually, the further away I am from the character, the less work I have to do. It takes so much more energy to detach yourself from your own life references that might cross wires with your character's. I think it's cheating for me to ever use my life references in conjunction with my characters. It's my reaction transferred to the character, which isn't good. What I have to do is erase those things and then find something else. I can't stand in front of a camera and let anything of myself come through or I'm betraying the character's complete trueness. There are some actors who just use themselves. They can wear their ego on their sleeve and it looks great. I can't do that.”

— River Phoenix

US Magazine (1991)

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River Phoenix 35

American actor, musician, and activist 1970–1993

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“I don't care what they might think of me; but I don't want lies about my life used to invalidate the stories. My characters seem real because they are drawn from the realities of my life.”

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“I am the white woman character, black woman character. I am the black man character, the white man character…I have to stand in that person’s shoes.”

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“I was attempting to write the story of my life. It wasn't so much about plot. It was much more about character.”

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