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Keanu Reeves has starred in many films over the years. Some have been massive hits while others could have seen better outcomes. What nearly all of them had in common was the fact that the actor had willingly been a part of them and was therefore somewhat linked to whatever fate it saw.

Keanu Reeves as John Wick | Credit: Lionsgate

However, what happens when the actor is tricked? When his wish to aid a film in its success ends with him being put in legal shackles and forced to ride out a project that he never wished to lead.

This is exactly what happened to Reeves’ 2000 film, which allegedly did him an insult of the highest regard after using him for his stardom.

Keanu Reeves was misled into being the lead of The Watcher

The 2000s were an excellent time for Keanu Reeves. He started the ’90s off with Point Break...

Quick Links Keanu Reeves Makes for an Interesting Serial Killer Universal Pictures Worked Out a Deal With Keanu Reeves

A serial killer thriller and Keanu Reeves might seem like an odd match, but it makes for an intriguing experience with The Watcher, released in 2000, and apparently, a film that Reeves might want audiences to forget. His reasons may have more to do with a story about being tricked into making the film rather than his work in it, but once you cut through some of the controversy, The Watcher is a bit better than its reputation, which also includes a Razzie Award nomination for Reeves.

Directed by Joe Charbanic from a screenplay by David Elliot and Clay Ayers, The Watcher follows an FBI Special Agent named Joel Campbell (James Spader) who is consumed by guilt after he is moments too late to save a young girl from an elusive serial...

Keanu Reeves is one of the most famous actors of our time, a magnetic star with millions of fans worldwide. Even though critics often accuse him of being an ‘incapable’ actor and some anti-fans believe he has been wasting his talents in movies like Sonic the Hedgehog, there is no denying the influence and power Reeves has.

Keanu Reeves in The Matrix | Credit: Warner Bros.

Famed for starring in The Matrix and playing the deadly hitman John Wick, not every project of Reeves has turned out to be good. And being a victim of his own humble personality, the actor once fell victim to Speak No Evil mantra and was forced to star in one of his worst movies of all time.

When Keanu Reeves Was Forced to Star in a Box Office Bomb Keanu Reeves in The Watcher | Credit: Universal Pictures

Keanu Reeves is one of the nicest and...

Beloved, breathtaking actor Keanu Reeves has revealed the bizarre reason why he was forced to star in one of his most critically panned movies. While Reeves has carved out a legacy as a cinematic hero thanks to roles in the likes of The Matrix and John Wick, the 2000 thriller The Watcher instead puts Reeves in the role of a villain in this tale of a depraved serial killer and the FBI agent on his tail. The role of a killer seems ill-fitting for Reeves, and the actor admits to having never found the script interesting. So why did he end up starring in this thriller with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 11%? Well, because his so-called friend forged his signature.

I never found the script interesting, but a friend of mine forged my signature on the agreement. I couldnt prove he did and I didnt want to get sued, so I...

Keanu Reeves is not only Hollywood’s sweetheart, with all his chivalrous deeds poking through to establish him as one of the most beloved gentlemen in the entertainment industry, but also one of the most talented actors of all time. That’s not all, for he is also incredibly kind and humble even in the roles he gets to embody on the screen, be those from the action genre or any other.

Keanu Reeves in the John Wick lore. | Credits: Lionsgate.

But among all the masterpieces he has been perfectly cast in, there have also been some major mishits that could have seriously disrupted his career because of just how out of place he looked in them. One of these was his $47 million piece with James Spader, The Watcher – the very one that Reeves was tricked into doing and is grateful didn’t land him in Hollywood jail!

Keanu Reeves...

The The Watcher episode of Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? was Written by Emilie Black, Narrated by Adam Walton, Edited by Juan Jimenez, Produced by Andrew Hatfield and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.

The late 1990s and early 2000s had an interesting subgenre of films come forward and be popular, a sort of serial killers versus cops thing that had a few entries including Copycat, The Bone Collector, Kiss the Girls, Taking Lives, and The Watcher (watch it Here). There was something about them that was on the edge of horror, but not so far into the genre that general audiences would skip out. They were often marketed as thrillers to avoid the word horror as if it were a bad, evil word. Most of them starred big names and familiar faces and had a variety of locations. There was a connective link between all of these,...

Keanu Reeves. John Wick. The Baba Yaga of our hearts. Everyone knows him and by god, everyone loves him. He’s been everything from a surfer cop in Point Break to a tumbleweed in The SpongeBob Movie. He’s also left his mark on horror. Let’s take a look at the many roles he’s played in the genre, shall we? Excellent! *Air guitar solo* Reading this entire article in Keanu’s voice in your head will increase the entertainment value exponentially. I promise.

Though it may not be a horror film per se, the correct place to start is 1991 with Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey. If being murdered by your future selves trying to steal your babes, going to literal hell and being forced to play the Grim Reaper in a series of childhood games isn’t horrific, what is? Okay fine, Keanu’s technical first foray...

Movies are terrific things. They give us beauty, laughs, sadness, thrills, snappy dialogue, and above all else, a great escape from the real world. Drama comes from conflict, and conflict produces heroes. Larger-than-life men and women out there battling for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Sure, everybody loves a flashy do gooder, but let's be honest: the ones they battle are always more interesting. A story is only as good as its villain, an idea that still resonates just as strongly today. The bad guys are the ones we really want to see — killing, maiming, and destroying with reckless abandon, all in the name of some evil, dastardly plan. Whether a hulking murderer in a hockey mask or a stoic demon with a face full of pins, we can't help but smile when they show up, usually accompanied by a few well-placed shadows or a sharp musical sting. From time to time,...

Keanu Reeves has claimed that he was press-ganged into starring in the serial killer thriller The Watcher after a friend forged his signature on the contract. Unable to conclusively prove the forgery, Reeves says that he finally agreed to take the role rather than face a protracted legal battle.

The Watcher was directed by Joe Charbanic, an erstwhile buddy of Keanu who has also filmed the actor on tour with his rock band Dogstar. The movie starred the Matrix hero as a menacing killer who taunts James Spader's overwrought cop. At the time of filming, there were reports that Reeves was unhappy that what he had envisaged as a minor role had been made the centre of the film. He was also rumoured to have been outraged to discover that he was receiving a reported $1.5m (£1.03m) less than his co-star Spader.

Keanu Reeves has claimed that he was press-ganged into starring in the serial killer thriller The Watcher after a friend forged his signature on the contract. Unable to conclusively prove the forgery, Reeves says that he finally agreed to take the role rather than face a protracted legal battle.

The Watcher was directed by Joe Charbanic, an erstwhile buddy of Keanu who has also filmed the actor on tour with his rock band Dogstar. The movie starred the Matrix hero as a menacing killer who taunts James Spader's overwrought cop. At the time of filming, there were reports that Reeves was unhappy that what he had envisaged as a minor role had been made the centre of the film. He was also rumoured to have been outraged to discover that he was receiving a reported $1.5m (£1.03m) less than his co-star Spader.

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