Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara 'welcome' a son

Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara are said to have become parents to a baby boy, who is named after the actor's late brother.

According to director Viktor Kossakovsky, Joaquin was not able to promote his latest film 'Gunda' - on which he serves as executive producer - because he "just got a baby", and the pair named the little boy after River Phoenix, who died in 1993 aged 23 of combined drug intoxication.

Speaking at the Zurich Film Festival, Viktor said: "He just got a baby, by the way, his name was ... a beautiful son called River, so he cannot promote it [the film] now."

Joaquin, 45, and fellow actor Rooney, 35, are yet to confirm the news publicly, and have never confirmed their pregnancy.

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