MovieChat Forums > Keanu Reeves Discussion > His characters never have children

His characters never have children

posted 9 years ago by Radagast81
13 replies | jump to latest

I was watching Knock Knock and the beginning has scenes of him being a playful father to his two kids...and it's pretty damn awkward. It occurred to me that I don't think i've ever seen him play a character where he has children. He's almost always a loner like in Speed, The Matrix, Constantine, A Scanner Darkly, etc. And when he plays a character that has a wife, they don't have kids, like in The Devil's Advocate. Heck, in John Wick, he's getting revenge for the bad guys killing his dog!

I have to wonder if it's Keanu's request to not have to have kids in his films or if studios just don't see him as the father type. It's like he's the opposite of Harrison Ford, who is always trying to save his family. Or Arnold Schwarzenegger who will murder hundreds of people to save his kidnapped daughter like in Commando or True Lies.

I wonder how Eli Roth got Keanu to play a daddy after all these years.

(granted, i've not seen every Keanu movie, so I could be missing some examples)

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[–] dorbell 9 years ago

Did you like Knock Knock? I didn't care for the nudity.

Life's a hell of a thing to happen to a person. David Rossi

[–] EmmanKiddo 9 years ago

He is just a bad actor and Knock Knock is a good example of it.

[–] MrFilmJunkie 9 years ago

simple answer: age (or how old he looks).

harrison ford or schwarzenegger had been typecasted for loner roles as well in the 80s and would have been awkward as family fathers back then. they didn't do father roles until they got older.

[–] Jackie68 9 years ago

Ford played a father in The Mosquito Coast back in the 80s.

[–] AmieEvelynLavinia 9 years ago

It could be to do with his daughter being still born.
So maybe he's very sensitive towards playing 'Father' roles in his movies.

[–] Cognoscente (2778) 4 years ago

Speaking of his deceased daughter, this article is scary: https://popcultmaster.com/2018/10/02/the-ties-that-bind/

[–] PaladinNJ (21782) 3 years ago

That's what I always figured as well.

[–] vintage13 9 years ago

Don't think he is against kids - he is very close to his godchildren. Perhaps its the roles he is offered - kids aren't part of the plot, therefore sticking them in there for no reason wouldn't make sense. Harrison Ford is 20 years older than Keanu - Maybe now that he's older he will get more daddy roles. Doesn't the supposed plot of Bill & Ted 3 include the kids they had in Bogus Journey? Also he had a baby at the end of Parenthood, so it doesn't seem like he is opposed to the idea if they are part of the story.

[–] fxdiamond 9 years ago

its got nothing to do with age.

arnold was only 38 when he played matrix in commando.

as the others said, harrison ford was only in his mid 40's at most when he played fatherly characters in the mid 80's.

all years younger than keanu is now, maybe its just his choice. he plays the roles he plays well so if he plays fathers in the future well so be it. some people just don't play the character well on screen even if they are actual fathers in real life.