Keanu Reeves Was ‘Forced’ To Do The Worst Film Of His Career, He Claims

"I had no other choice."

Keanu Reeves Was ‘Forced’ To Do The Worst Film Of His Career, He Claims

Keanu Reeves is one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors and has played some truly iconic roles.

From Neo in The Matrix franchise to the titular character in the John Wick films; from Ted in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure to a new secret role in an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film… Reeves has had a rather impressive career.

However, everyone – Reeves included – has something they regret doing; in Reeves’ case, it was the 2000 film The Watcher. Reeves starred opposite James Spader as David Allen Griffin – a serial killer.

Upon the film’s release, it received disastrous reviews and has not become a ‘cult classic’ over the years; meaning today in 2022, it’s still considered a sub-par film. Currently, The Watcher has only an 11% score on Rotten Tomatoes and is described as a film “short on thrills, suspense, and believability”. Ouch.

Reeves is well aware that the film isn’t great; in fact, he never wanted to do it in the first place. He actually claims he was forced into it.

Reeves starred in The Watcher as a serial killer. Image Credit: Universal Pictures

According to Far Out Magazine, Reeves was unimpressed with The Watcher’s script and was going to pass on it; that is until a friend got involved.

“I never found the script interesting, but a friend of mine forged my signature on the agreement. I couldn’t prove he did and I didn’t want to get sued, so I had no other choice but to do the film.”

Reeves eventually worked out a deal with Universal, the studio that produced The Watcher; his salary was slightly increased and he only had to do minimal promotion for the film. But Reeves did have to stay silent about the forgery for a full twelve months after the film was released.

Thankfully, Reeves’ career wasn’t tarnished by The Watcher; otherwise, we may have never gotten the iconic film that is John Wick

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