How Kathryn Bigelow battled for Keanu Reeves' pivotal role: “I'm ...

Mon 15 April 2024 13:15, UK

Nearly four decades after making his first film appearance in Peter Markle’s 1986 work Youngblood, Keanu Reeves remains one of Hollywood’s brightest acting heroes. Having traversed a wide range of genres, Reeves is considered one of the most bankable stars in action cinema.

It wasn’t until Point Break and Speed, though, that Reeves was considered a viable option for an action movie, having previously extended his talents to comedy in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and independent drama in Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho. Before long, though, Reeves would go on to star in The Matrix, Constantine and John Wick.

One cannot stress the importance of Reeves’ effort in Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 action movie Point Break, though. Widely considered one of the greatest action flicks ever made, Reeves stars as Johnny Utah, a young undercover FBI agent who is faced with uncovering the identities of a group of bank robbers.

It so happens that the bank robbers are dedicated surfers by day, led by the enigmatic and spiritual Bodhi, played by Patrick Swayze. The film is dripping with absolute cool, with its intense action sequence, brilliant, almost cheesy dialogue, and the fact that both Reeves and Swayze are in a surfing action movie.

Ridley Scott was first attached to the project, with Johnny Depp, Charlie Sheen, and Val Kilmer all being considered to play Johnny Utah. Eventually, executive producer James Cameron handed the project to his then-wife Kathryn Bigelow, who only had one person in mind for the lead role.

“Keanu was Kathryn Bigelow’s personal battle,” said the screenwriter of the film, W Peter Illif, “a lot of other names were preferred by the studio and by Larry Gordon, but Kathryn Bigelow had a thing for Keanu Reeves.” Somehow, Bigelow saw the action movie star potential in Reeves despite him never really giving a prior performance to suggest that he could accomplish the task.

Producer Peter Abrams also noted that it was Bigelow who pushed for Reeves’ casting and that Reeves himself did manage to stand up to the challenge of playing Utah. He said, “Kathryn was fixated on him and to her credit, she was the one who said, ‘I’m going to turn him into an action star.’ And to his credit, he became that character.”

Having performed in the likes of Parenthood, Permanent Record and Bill & Ted, Reeves’ resume did not exactly scream action star, but what followed saw the first moment that his credentials were assured. If the rest of Reeves’ career so far is anything to go by, then Bigelow deserves credit for giving the future The Matrix and John Wick star his first chance in the action genre.

James Cameron had also explained that the producers were not keen on Reeves but that it was because of Bigelow’s insistence that he finally got the role. “We had this meeting where the Fox executives were going, ‘Keanu Reeves in an action film? Based on what? Bill & Ted?’ They were being so insulting,” Cameron said, “but she insisted he could be an action star.”

Subsequently, Reeves repaid his director’s faith and turned in one of the most memorable performances in the action genre of all time. His effort as Johnny Utah is one brimming with youthful energy, and the chemistry between Reeves and Swayze simmers with intensity, proving that Bigelow was right to stand by her man all along.