But sexual play was encouraged in the Children of God sect. “Admittedly, he is not a teenybopper heartthrob à la Jason Priestley, but he does have a huge following amongst women and men of all ages.” Phoenix emerged the other end of production for Stand By Me unscathed – nay, improved – by puberty. “The real non-issue to the young actor is his own sex appeal,” an article in a 1993 issue of Detour explains. “All the outtakes that you never want to see again in your life go through the teen magazines forever.” A pin-up!” he groaned in a 1990 issue of Vogue. He was constantly labelled a heart-throb, which he despised. To his own detriment, Phoenix was the triumvirate of sex, drugs and rock and roll, with his band Aleka’s Attic. Like any randy son of Hollywood, his sexuality was muted and xeroxed onto 2-D, poster-sized centrefolds in teen magazines when he broke out in Stand By Meat 15.
