Keanu Reeves has earned a solid reputation in Hollywood as a brilliant actor and an all-around good guy. While many of his films have seen great success, like so many big stars, a few bombs sneak their way onto the resume. Reeves is applauded for his range as an actor who delights fans in movies like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure or offers an adrenaline boost in movies like Speed. The fact he is a genuinely nice guy in the business makes him a sought after co-star to work with.

Although rather reserved in his personal life, that hasn’t stopped Reeves from pumping out great films. He has received critical acclaim for his roles in The Matrix, The Devil’s Advocate, The Lake House, and the action-thriller franchise John Wick. While so much of his work entertains and receives high praise, some have fallen flat with fans and critics alike. Unfortunately for Reeves, one such film was due to no fault of his own.

Early Career

Reeves began acting in various television series and commercials before becoming somewhat of a teen heartthrob with films like The Night Before and The Prince of Pennsylvania. He would star opposite Alex Winter in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure in 1989, but it wasn’t until the sequel, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, that he began to truly breakthrough. Throughout the 1990’s he would star in huge films alongside stars, including Patrick Swayze, Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Sandra Bullock in the action-thriller Speed. The Matrix has become an iconic science-fiction franchise and Reeves played the role of Neo, an alias to the computer programmer Thomas Anderson. With his fame on the rise and his career really taking off, it would be a friend who put that all on the line.

Forged Signature

The 2000 thriller The Watcher was nowhere on Reeve’s radar until a friend forged his signature on a contract legally binding Reeves to the project. Without the ability to prove it was forged and not wanting to be involved in a lengthy legal battle, Reeves took the high road and agreed to do the film. Although he did not find the script interesting, he saw he had no choice but to do the film or get sued. His only condition was that the producers release him from having to promote the film or do any red-carpet events. Reeves remained a class act and stuck by his word, doing the film, and not bad-mouthing the project.

How this whole event happened does not make much sense. Reeves was coming off the high of The Matrix and one would think his representation would have been aware of a fake like this. Especially seeing how the movie turned out, this was a career move that could have been prevented. As the good guy that Reeves is, everyone involved is lucky he stuck by his word and decided against a long and expensive legal battle.

A Real Bomb

The Watcher is set in Chicago and stars Reeves, James Spader, and Marisa Tomei. It follows a serial killer (Reeves) who taunts and stalks a retired FBI agent (Spader) who attends therapy sessions with the only person he interacts with, a therapist named Polly Beilman (Tomei). Another cat and mouse-like film, The Watcher had promise to be entertaining. Given the talent amassed in the film, one would think producers could make it work and turn even a poorly written script into a fairly decent movie. Reeves, however, was not pleased that what he thought of as a minor role was turned into the center of the film. On top of that realization, he was quite angry after finding out that Spader was making $1.5 million more than him.

The film received terrible reviews from fans and critics alike. Rotten Tomatoes gave The Watcher a 10% score which is every film’s worst nightmare. With Reeves absent from red carpets events and other press-related functions, fans wondered why he wanted no part in promoting the film. As more people began to watch it, fans started to figure out why.

The simple plot is not what turned people away, for the plot structure of The Watcher is very close to every other stalker-cop film. What makes a film unique within this genre is the out-of-the-box ideas that come with trying to make something so monotonous stand out. While people were not exactly fans of the film itself, they applauded the actors for doing the best they could. It was the story that seemed to be lacking, and the actors simply did what they could to make the film at least watchable. Regardless of the outcome, Reeves persevered through his friend’s forgery and showed the business that he isn’t one to back down from an agreement, whether it be his choice or not.