3. River Phoenix
Seen by some as a tragic replay of James Dean, River Phoenix was one of those actors that you could tell was destined for so much more. He died a year younger than Dean at the age of 23, yet because River began his career as a child actor he has a few more screen credits to his name. This also brings to light a feat that River looked likely to achieve that so few do; the successful transition from child sensation to a successful and respected adult actor. Though he would be unable to cement this change his younger brother Joaquin was able to do so, though he was a considerably less high profile child actor than River. His big break came in the classic coming of age film, Stand by Me. The movie is one of those rare examples of a kid centric film from which virtually every young actor went on to have some form of success in later life. Jerry OConnell has made a decent career for himself in television and whilst Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman have enjoyed their most successful period as children, they certainly arent defined by this move alone. Yet it was clearly River Phoenix that shone the brightest out of anyone in the cast- including John Cusack and Kiefer Sutherland- with the fate of his character striking a sad and rather poignant chord. His career would go on to roles in more adult orientated fare such as Running on Empty, as well as a supporting role as the young Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade. Then in 1991, by which time River Phoenix was in his twenties, he won the role of Mike in Gus Van Sants My Own Private Idaho. He received considerable critical praise for his performance and it looked to be the launching pad for his adult acting career. Tragically two years later, before he really had the chance to build off this praise, River Phoenix died of a drug overdose.