Keanu Reeves has always had a cult following, no matter what character he plays on the silver screen. Whether it’s as the formidable action icon John Wick, the prodigal hacker in The Matrix, or the undercover FBI agent leading Point Break, the award-winning actor tends to rule every role he picks up.
Despite being a cinematic panjandrum, the Canadian actor has an incredible knack for humility, even when it comes to joining forces with some of the biggest names in the industry. Meanwhile, Charlie Sheen was busy crying in the proverbial corner.
Charlie Sheen Envied Keanu Reeves
What is a pipedream for many stars – working with Hollywood heavyweights like Last Tango in Paris‘ Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, who helmed the ’70s classic The Godfather, and Point Break director Kathryn Bigelow – was an honor that Keanu Reeves got to experience in his prime years.
And as it turns out, Reeves happened to be living the dream of one specific actor – Two and a Half Men alum Charlie Sheen. The 58-year-old actor was rendered utterly incredulous, and perhaps a little disgruntled since he wasn’t the one collaborating with such visionaries (via Esquire).
Emilio [Estevez] and I sit around and just scratch our heads thinking, ‘How did this guy get in?’ How does Keanu work with Coppola and Bertolucci and I don’t get a shot at that?
The Speed star, for his part, however, remained as modest as ever. “I was really fortunate,” Reeves, 59, said of working with other big shots like Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting), Kenneth Branagh (Death on the Nile), and Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons).
“That was really it,” he said. “They’re just such wonderful people and wonderful directors.”
Keanu Reeves Turned Down A Role That Went to Charlie Sheen
Written and directed by Oliver Stone, Platoon is perhaps one of the most renowned works of Sheen which, incidentally enough, almost didn’t star the Wall Street star.
Before Sheen was cast as the protagonist in the iconic war action venture, the role of Chris Taylor had gone to none other than, Reeves. Astonishingly enough, however, the Constantine star turned down the film owing to its violence. Meanwhile, John Wick probably put down five guys in the time you read that.
“Keanu turned it down because of the violence,” a now-77-year-old Stone divulged in an Entertainment Weekly interview. “He didn’t want to do violence.”
Ironic as it may be though, Reeves wouldn’t pick up weapons as Wick until almost three decades after the Vietnam War movie. So it makes sense that he held a different perspective regarding his career back then.
Platoon can be streamed on Prime Video or rented on Apple TV+.
