With our Ghosts of Movies Past issue just two weeks away, Amanda Keats remembers lost artists of the big screen.
People across the world, whether they are film fans or not, are always saddened by the loss of young stars. There’s a sense of sorrow for many, not just at the tragic circumstances of that person’s passing but of all that they still had left to offer. For actors like Natalie Wood and River Phoenix, who put in incredible performances at a very young age, people eagerly waited to see what they would accomplish as adults. Others, like James Dean and Heath Ledger, were all the more shocking because they had just recently turned in career-changing roles that prompted people to take notice of their skills.
James Dean was just 23 years old when Rebel Without a Cause (1955) was released in cinemas. His portrayal of Jim Stark opposite Natalie Wood saw him try to prove himself against his peers, wanting desperately to make a new start after a troubled past. Events at his new school though would conspire to make this impossible and the film saw Stark enter into a tense drag race. This would prove scarily realistic when, only a year later, Dean died in a car crash, mere hours after having been stopped for speeding. At the time of his death, aged 24, Dean had only had major roles in three films: Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden (1955) and Giant (1956).
Unlike Dean, River Phoenix began his film acting career at a young age, paving the way for younger siblings Joaquin and Summer who later became actors in their own right. After Explorers (1985), it was his portrayal of Chris Chambers in Stand By Me (1986) – an adaptation of a Stephen King novella – that made people take notice. Phoenix led a tortured life though, revealing that his family had been part of a cult. He reportedly struggled with drug addiction and depression for many years. Phoenix went on to star as a young Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and My Own Private Idaho (1991) opposite Keanu Reeves but never quite reached the levels of stardom of which his role in Stand By Me suggested he was capable. His final film, The Thing Called Love (1993) was reportedly the most financially unsuccessful film of that year and was pulled from a wide cinematic release after it received such poor initial takings. Phoenix died in 1993, aged 23, of a drug overdose.
Though she had been famous for many years already, Aaliyah was new to the world of acting when she starred in Romeo Must Die (2000) opposite Jet Li. With this feature film debut, the hip-hop singing sensation proved that she could hold her own as the fiery Trish. A modern-day take on the classic Shakespearean tale, Romeo Must Die saw Aaliyah and Li as the younger generation of two feuding families and showed that Aaliyah was much more than just a singer. Fans of hers were excited to see where she would go next. In August 2001, though, Aaliyah was returning from shooting a music video on location when her plane crashed, killing her and everyone on board. The star had completed principal photography on her next film project, Queen of the Damned (2002), but the film was widely panned and disappointed fans of the original Anne Rice book immensely. With only two features to her name when she died aged a mere 22 years old, Aaliyah’s career had the potential to go in any number of directions.
For the younger generation of film fans, there is one death from the last few years that will no doubt stick out more than others: that of Australian actor Heath Ledger. Having made a name for himself with roles in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and Brokeback Mountain (2005), Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) was to be his career-defining role. Sadly, he died the year of the film’s release, only a few months before he could see the audiences reaction or accept the two awards he won posthumously for Best Supporting Actor at both the Academy Awards and BAFTAs.
Ledger had already begun filming his next feature The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) when he died and other leading men were brought in to complete the film on his behalf. Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell were all signed on to play the different ‘imaginarium’ versions of Ledger’s character Tony. The film did not do as well as many expected and the forced change to the original story confused audiences and critics alike, leaving them contemplating what the film would have become had Ledger been alive to finish it.
What these actors would have offered next will never be seen but the roles they portrayed so well before their tragic deaths certainly meant that they would not easily be forgotten.
Issue 8 is our Ghosts of Movies Past Edition! Pre-Order your copy today and read up the elements of cinema that have been lost, forgotten or simply keep coming back to haunt us.
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