Hollywood often marvels at the rise of stars who seemingly emerge overnight, and one such celebrated actor whose career once skyrocketed, is the charismatic icon Keanu Reeves. Beginning his entertainment journey from promising actor to beloved heartthrob, Reeves cemented his place in the industry with career-defining roles in The Matrix and Sandra Bullock’s Speed.
However, long before his breakout moment and his subsequent roles that solidified his status and earned him a devoted fan base, Keanu Reeves’ potential was recognized by Michelle Pfeiffer, who had a keen eye for talent. Working with Reeves in Stephen Frears’ 1988 hit Dangerous Liaisons, the director revealed recently on how Pfeiffer had identified the actor’s future stardom.
Keanu Reeves’ Rise to Stardom From Breakout Role to Iconic Status
Beginning his career by making his first professional appearance in a 1984 episode of the comedy series Hangin’ In, Keanu Reeves gradually made his way into mainstream Hollywood, through struggle and determination. Thereafter making his film debut as a hockey player in Youngblood (1986), Reeves tried navigating through the competitive landscape of the entertainment industry.
Appearing in several television gigs and advertisement videos, Keanu Reeves landed the opportunity to appear in a significant role in Stephen Frears’ 1988 movie Dangerous Liaisons. The film later earned three Academy Awards out of seven nominations and was therefore expected to be a big break for Reeves. Unfortunately, despite the film’s success, Reeves struggled some more with his career, until Speed in 1994.
Appearing as Jack Traven alongside Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock in Speed, Keanu Reeves solidified his place in Hollywood. Thereafter, the film became a turning point in his career, as it highlighted his versatility and charisma, which later helped him secure roles in critically acclaimed projects like The Devil’s Advocate (1997) and The Matrix (1999). And now, the actor has become synonymous with the John Wick franchise.
Michelle Pfeiffer’s Early Prediction of Keanu Reeves’ Star Quality
Meanwhile, despite Keanu Reeves’ subsequent performance in Speed and The Matrix, which solidified his status as a leading man and a beloved Hollywood heartthrob, a recent revelation suggested that his potential was recognized long back by his Dangerous Liaisons co-star Michelle Pfeiffer. Although the movie itself didn’t help Reeves’ career much, director Stephen Frears noted how the actor was recognized as a budding talent by Pfeiffer.
During a recent episode of THR’s It Happened in Hollywood podcast, Dangerous Liaisons filmmaker Stephen Frears shared an intriguing anecdote about Michelle Pfeiffer being the one to recognize Keanu Reeves’ potential for stardom. Although at the time of casting, Reeves had not yet achieved widespread fame, Frears noted how Pfeiffer’s intuition about him was notably prescient.
When [Reeves] shot, he hadn’t [yet broken out,]. I saw a lot of young actors [for the role] and said, ‘I like him.’ [Screenwriter] Christopher Hampton actually thought I’d gone mad. But I said, ‘No, no – he’s the one.’ He was the best person I saw.
In the end, you have to believe in things. And he made it all believable. You could see that Glenn would want to go to bed with him, and people would fall in love with him. He was a sweet boy. They all took a shine to him – the girls [on the set].
Speaking about Keanu Reeves’ charisma and gentlemanly behavior that attracted women towards him, director Stephen Frears noted how Michelle Pfeiffer was the one who saw through Reeves. After the actor arrived in Paris for the shoot looking “completely lost”, he spent some time chatting with Pfeiffer. And somehow, the brief interaction was enough for the actress to recognize Reeves’ talent. That’s when Pfeiffer had told Frears that Reeves was destined to become “a big star.”
At the age of 23, Keanu Reeves was cast as Le Chevalier Danceny, a handsome musician who drew the attention of Glenn Close’s character Marquise de Merteuil, while falling in love with Uma Thurman’s naive ingénue Cecile. The actor also shared the screen with John Malkovich’s Sebastian Valmont, with whom he dueled for Cecile’s honor.
Dangerous Liaisons is available on Prime Video.
