’80s actress Martha Plimpton has taken a trip down memory lane, sharing what it was like being with her “first love”, the late actor River Phoenix.
She spoke to actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his podcast Dinner’s on Me, talking about the innocent love they shared despite both being on the precipice of fame.
Watch the video above
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“River was certainly more famous than I ever was. I mean, he got an Oscar nomination, obviously,” the 54-year-old shared.
“But I think we were both really good at knowing that we didn’t really want that attention anyway, and so we really weren’t exposed really that much in that way, and neither of us was terribly comfortable with that sort of thing.
“And it was before we were even, like, understood what that meant.”
The pair had met as they starred in 1986 film The Mosquito Coast, dating for four years.
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Plimpton was by his side as she saw him being nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role as Danny Pope in Running on Empty.
Plimpton also starred in the project as Lorna Phillips.
Despite their eventual breakup, ”We did remain friends and we were each other’s first love. That relationship never really goes away. You can’t ever let something like that go. It’s just too important and too altering.
“I mean, it’s made you who you are, especially in those really formative years. I mean, it’s a huge part of who I am. So yeah, so, and of course we stayed friends.”
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The Goonies actress, alongside his other friends and family, also saw him struggle with drug abuse, eventually leading to his death in 1993, aged 23.
“I think it got harder as we got older and River became more famous,” she reflected.
“He was not as equipped, I think, as maybe some other people might be to handle that stuff because he was a very at heart, very innocent and like a driven by love human being.
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“So the contradictions of Hollywood and show business were much more difficult for him and it was easier for me because I grew up in New York and I was already a cynic.”
“He really just didn’t know what to do with all of that… And he wanted to do good, but it was really, it’s just that the contradictions of it were too difficult.
The actress began crying as she thought of Phoenix would be doing if he was alive today.
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“I think he was lucky to have me and his family, his brothers and sisters, I think, you know, his personality or his affliction, his illness was incredibly difficult for him to manage on his own and he never really got the help that I think he would have done amazingly well with.
“If he had gotten that help, I think he would have been an incredible advocate for sobriety and for people struggling with addiction. And unfortunately, it just, it got him before he had a chance to do that.
“I miss him every single day. Every single day.”
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