Which actor plays young Indiana Jones in the 1912 prologue of The Last Crusade?

River Phoenix plays young Indiana Jones in the 1912 prologue of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

The film opens with a 1912 adventure in Utah, where a teenage Indiana Jones attempts to recover a valuable artifact from tomb robbers. Phoenix plays this younger version of the character before the story jumps forward to Harrison Ford as the adult Indy.

The prologue establishes several traits and objects that become associated with Indiana Jones: his resourcefulness, his discomfort with snakes, his fedora, and his distinctive bullwhip. It also supplies the flashback explanation for the scar on his chin and the origin of his fear of snakes.

River Phoenix was a natural casting choice because he had previously played Harrison Ford's son in The Mosquito Coast. Ford recommended him, and Phoenix's resemblance and screen presence made the transition between the young and adult versions convincing. Corey Carrier and Sean Patrick Flanery are associated with younger Indiana Jones portrayals in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, not this film prologue.