# I don't think Keanu Reeve is a terrible actor **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296 "2005-07-26T21:05:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/1 "2005-07-26T21:05:45Z")
Am I the only person alive who doesn’t think Keanu Reeves completely stinks as an actor? He’s no De Niro, but I think he holds his own in the movies he makes, and I think he chooses his roles very wisely, with an eye towards what kinds of roles he can handle. Of course, I might be prejudiced, because the movie could be two hours of Keanu doing pretty much anything and I would still enjoy watching it. That is one pretty, pretty man. ---
**Author:** ![Nic2004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@Nic2004](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nic2004)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/2 "2005-07-26T21:10:24Z")
I enjoyed The Replacements quite a bit. Not a big stretch for him i think but a fun movie. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/3 "2005-07-26T21:11:48Z")
I don’t think he’s terrible at all. He has limited range, but that’s true of most film actors. I enjoy Tom Cruise, too. Sometimes I think my ovaries are making my entertainment choices. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/4 "2005-07-26T21:59:02Z")
Watch _Constantine_. One of the laughably and jaw-droppingly bad movies I’ve seen in a long time. (I watched it on DVD; I imagine reaction at a theater had to be like that classic shot of the audience just staring at the stage in _The Producers_.) Oh, and I think Keanu is a godawful actor. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/5 "2005-07-26T22:03:34Z")
Agreed, he makes really good picks on scripts, and while not an awesome talent by any means, is competient enough to not ruin a good movie. His skill is not letting himself get in the way of the story the screenwriter and director want to tell, which is an underated talent in Hollywood, if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![parthenokinesis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/cc9497/32.png) [@parthenokinesis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parthenokinesis)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/6 "2005-07-26T22:22:27Z")
> [@Malodorous](#): > > Agreed, he makes really good picks on scripts, and while not an awesome talent by any means, is competient enough to not ruin a good movie. Has everyone forgotten Bram Stoker’s Dracula? The only thing worse than Keanu in Dracula was Wynonna in Dracula. OTOH Keanu made Point Break so he’s not all bad. Also I think it is his birthright to play Superman. I mean are there any other Reeves’ working right now? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/7 "2005-07-26T22:24:54Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Am I the only person alive who doesn’t think Keanu Reeves completely stinks as an actor? Are his parents living? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/8 "2005-07-26T22:27:48Z")
I WANT ROOM SERVICE! pretty much ended any hope he ever had of my respecting him. I don’t think he’s good at choosing roles; I think the occasional director is good at casting him. He’s got two faces he can do: “I’m so confused that–hmm, am I wearing socks?” and, “Aw, fuckit, I don’t care.” A brilliant director, like the Wachow!ski browthers, cast him in a role the bulk of which can be supported by either of his faces, and it worked up until the point where I was supposed to buy Keanu as the Messiah. Ah well, the first three quarters of the movie worked. I only made it through Francis Ford Coppola’s _Dracula_ by acknowledging that the original actor cast as Harker was killed in a free rampaging-gnu accident, and that they had to get the set’s fluffer to fill in as a line-reader for the part so that the movie could go on. He really did an admirable job reading Harker’s lines so that the actors could act around him, and I gave him a lot of credit for his courage in doing so, when he knew how roundly he’d be mocked in comparison to the actors around him. Yeah, he’s pretty–but the boy can’t act his way out of a revolving door. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![FisherQueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@FisherQueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FisherQueen)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/9 "2005-07-26T22:29:23Z")
I don’t dislike him. I think of his acting as minimalist; he doesn’t emote very much, but a good director can make his style work in a movie’s favor. I think of **The Matrix** , for example. **Constantine** was certainly a godawful movie, but I think a better script would have been more useful than a different actor. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/10 "2005-07-26T22:30:44Z")
Bill and Ted as the high point of a career does not an actor make. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/11 "2005-07-26T22:34:21Z")
Here’s my problem. I’ll rate the performances I’ve seen under 3 categories: Completely Convincing: **Parenthood** Somewhat Convincing: **Dangerous Liaisons** ; **Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure** ; **Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey** ; **The Matrix** Not at all Convincing: **I Love You to Death** ; **Dracula** ; **Much Ado About Nothing** ; **Speed** Now, I haven’t seen a movie with him in it in about six years. Maybe he’s a decent actor now. But something tells me avoiding his films is the right thing for me to do. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/12 "2005-07-26T22:54:07Z")
He couldn’t act like he was falling if you chucked him off a cliff. The Matrix flicks would have been so much better with almost anybody but him. Christian Bale, for example. Val Kilmer. Danny DiVito. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/13 "2005-07-26T22:59:31Z")
I think he is awful. On a scale of bad but successful actors: Arnold & Tom Cruise = 2 Keanu = 1. I made the mistake of watching Little Budda back around '95. This was unforgivably bad casting & acting. I then made the mistake of watching Devil’s Advocate in the theatre. {Yes, I’m pretty stupid} I thought he was great in Bill & Ted. I liked him in Parenthood. I think he was playing himself however. I thought he was okay in speed, but thought the movie was pretty dumb. I laughed at his acting in Dracula & Matrix and I actually avoid his movies if at all possible now. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/14 "2005-07-26T23:00:39Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > He couldn’t act like he was falling if you chucked him off a cliff. The Matrix flicks would have been so much better with almost anybody but him. Christian Bale, for example. Val Kilmer. Danny DiVito. Man, Danny DeVito that would be totally awesome. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/15 "2005-07-26T23:06:50Z")
I really like him. Okay, the fact that I am a teenage girl might take some credibility off my opinion, but I really don’t think he’s that bad. I like some of his movies, especially _Matrix, Constantine_ and _The Replacements._ I think he helps a director tell the story that the director wants to and maybe some people translate that into “bad acting”. And the fact that he’s very pretty is, uh, a “small” variable in my opinion of him. Maybe that’s my ovaries talking. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/16 "2005-07-26T23:54:37Z")
not bad for a brunet. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/17 "2005-07-27T02:07:40Z")
I actually think Reeves is a very underrated actor. He’s turned in good performances in **I Love You to Death, Tune in Tomorrow, Feeling Minnesota, Little Buddha, A Walk in the Clouds** and was effective enough in **Speed** and **The Matrix**. People confuse the way he speaks with lack of talent. He is much like John Wayne in that way: everyone used to say exactly the same things about Wayne’s ability. Yet both are real _movie_ actors – they don’t emote; they react. Those who know little about acting don’t understand that emoting is not necessarily better acting. In addition, Reeve’s best films didn’t do particularly well at the box office. Most people haven’t even seen his best work. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/18 "2005-07-27T02:41:38Z")
Keanu Reeves is excellent in movies in which he has few spoken lines… see _Speed_, _Little Buddha_, and the first _Matrix_ for instance. I can’t explain it except to say that he has good stage presence in some way. However he is terribly wooden at delivering lines. Anytime he has to do this, he falls flat, big time. it is very similar to the early part of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career, when he spoke English poorly. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/19 "2005-07-27T03:03:26Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > He’s got two faces he can do: “I’m so confused that–hmm, am I wearing socks?” and, “Aw, fuckit, I don’t care.” That’s hardly fair. He does a damn good “unconscious” too. Actually, we counted four facial expressions including the two you listed and unconscious in the Matrix, I’m just damned if I can remember what the fourth was. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296/20 "2005-07-27T03:44:45Z")
> [@parthenokinesis](#): > > The only thing worse than Keanu in Dracula was Wynonna in Dracula. I can’t disagree with you more. A braless Winona in sheer bedclothes hurrying down a flight of steps…yep, that was a great movie. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-dont-think-keanu-reeve-is-a-terrible-actor/314296.md?page=2)