The River Wild is a 1994 American thriller film starring Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, and David Strathairn. It was directed by Curtis Hanson and written by Denis O'Neill. It follows a young family whose white-water rafting holiday is endangered when they are taken hostage by a pair of armed fugitives.

John Christopher Reilly is an American actor. He is known as a character actor taking leading and supporting roles in independent drama films and studio comedies. He gained exposure through his supporting roles in Paul Thomas Anderson's films Hard Eight (1996), Boogie Nights (1997) and Magnolia (1999), and Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York (2002) and The Aviator (2004). Reilly was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the corresponding Golden Globe Award for his role in the musical film Chicago (2002). Reilly's other notable films include The River Wild (1994), The Thin Red Line (1998), and The Hours (2002).