River Pheonix is involved in films.
River Phoenix . He starred in the science fiction adventure film Explorers ( 1985 ) , and had his first notable role in 1986 's Stand By Me , a coming-of-age film based on the novella The Body by Stephen King . Stand by Me is a 1986 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Wil Wheaton , River Phoenix , Corey Feldman , and Jerry O'Connell .