Michael J. Fox Told River Phoenix It’s OK to Be a ‘Dick’: It’s the ‘Highest Level of Accomplishment’

Michael J. Fox is remembering words of wisdom he shared with the late River Phoenix on the set of “Family Ties.”

Phoenix guest starred on the sitcom in 1985 at age 15. Series lead Fox revealed to People magazine that Phoenix’s work ethic was inspirational, but Fox had to calm down Phoenix between takes.

“It was just before or just after ‘Stand by Me’ and he would do a scene and I could tell,” Fox said. “I was looking at this guy…I think Tracy [Pollan, my wife] was on the show that episode. And I said, ‘Look at this kid working. This kid is taking this 10 ways from Sunday and he is really coming at it.’ I mean, kids don’t act like this. He really knew how to be an actor but he was struggling on this one scene.”

Fox continued, “So I went up to him and I said, ‘What’s the problem?’ And he said, ‘I feel like a dick.’ And I said, ‘You feel like a dick? Why?’ He said, ‘I feel goofy, I feel like a dick.’ And I said, ‘Welcome to the business. That’s it. That’s the highest level of accomplishment you’ll get is to feel like a dick.’ It’s stupid. It’s a stupid thing to do for a living.”

The sentiment put things in perspective for Phoenix, according to Fox, who added, “We pretend we’re other people for a living. We use things that we’re not really using and we eat things that we’re not really eating and we stand in a place because the light’s better there and it’s all goofy, but if you stick with it, you can find a way to tell a story that other people can’t.”

Ultimately, Phoenix gave a “phenomenal” performance on “Family Ties,” and seemed to remember Fox’s kindness years later. While Fox was filming 1991 comedy “Doc Hollywood” in a small town outside of Gainesville, Florida, Phoenix and his brother Joaquin Phoenix invited Fox to their house during production.

“River would take us out,” Fox said. “He used to come and scoop us up and take us to his place and have a barbecue. It’s funny because that was an act of kindness that was built on an act of kindness. I guess that’s why he was always so nice to me when he became a huge star.”

Phoenix died in 1993 at age 23 of a drug overdose.

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