Joaquin Phoenix names newborn son 'River' in ‘connection’ to family

Joaquin Phoenix leaves fans heartbroken and in awe after naming his infant son River.

While the actor himself has not announced news of his child’s birth off his own accord, the director for his new documentary Victor Kossakovsky took it upon himself to explain the truth behind the actor’s absence from the Zurich Film Festival this Sunday.

The director claimed, “He just got a baby, by the way, his name was...a beautiful son named River, so he cannot promote it now.”

Check out the video below:

While many might not be aware Joaquin Phoenix once had an older brother named River who died at the tender age of 23, while Phoenix was barely 19 at the time.

The actor referenced his brother on numerous occasions but the most memorable occurred during his Oscars acceptance speech. It was there that Phoenix revealed his late brother’s most prized lyric, “When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric, he said, ‘Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow.”

Stories of their relationship were also shared during Phoenix’s 60 Minute Interview back in January of this year. “In virtually every movie I made, there was a connection to River in some way.”