The movie "My Private Idaho" ran into problems at the very start, according to Paper Mag. Keanu Reeves was on board pretty much immediately, but River Phoenix's agent refused to let her client see the screenplay, not liking that it was about street hustlers. So Gus Van Sant, the director, suggested to Reeves that he take a more ... straightforward route to Phoenix. He knew that Reeves was friendly with Phoenix and thought that the older actor might have a chance to convince him to come aboard.
So Reeves did what any actor would do — he hopped on a motorcycle — a 1974 Norton Commando — in his home city of Toronto and rode 1,300 miles to Florida where Phoenix's family had a ranch. Once he got there, he showed the Phoenix the script. Only after Reeves promised that he would also do the movie did Phoenix agree to co-star. He probably appreciated the lengths that the "Bill and Ted" star had gone to in order to show him the script. The two went on to make the movie and become close friends. The same motorcycle also made an appearance in the film. Unfortunately, they would only have a few years until Phoenix's untimely death.
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