Why the hell was Keanu picked for this film? His accent was absolutely terrible, and I could feel discomfort coming from him during his performance.
Gary Oldman was excellent. Hopkins superb. Rider pretty good. Keanu tried his best but just wasn't suited for the role. It's literally laughable how badly this casting choice was.
Because a hot young star has always been Hollywood's way of attracting younger viewers.
http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/
Agreed! No actor, he, but definitely way cute
shareNo idea. Total miscast...
shareOkay, so I've thought of this many times and came to the board and saw this, here's my take...
Other than the obvious need for a young, goodlooking Hollywood Star, I think he LOOKS the part more than anything. He has that pale look and dark hair, it fit exactly with what FFC did. Also, his bad acting kind of led to this, idk, almost naïve personality and again, it was PERFECT for the film. It was like he was miscast on purpose. Even 'The Matrix', his acting is questionable... But it worked. I know, it might not make sense but Its just my outlook
I agree. It's been a while since I read the book but my lasting impression was that Jonathan Harker wasn't the brightest bulb in the box. I think Keanu was perfect for this and the delivery of some of his lines was hilarious: "Bloody wolves chasing me through a blue inferno!" Makes me crack up every time! Dracula's constant messing with him made it even better!
shareYeah, because when I think of a Victorian Englishman I picture a half Asian surfer dude. Perfect!
shareWho would have been your choice? I'm not saying I don't disagree with you, but who circa '92 would have been a better choice? I can't really remember any actors at the time that would have "looked" better for the part. I agree about the accent completely though.
Conquer your fear, and I promise you, you will conquer death.
who circa '92 would have been a better choice?Colin Firth, Clive Owen, Sean Bean, Daniel Craig, James Purefoy, Ralph Fiennes... share
James Purefoy...I can see that. A relative unknown in the USA at the time though, correct? The first time I can recall seeing him in a fairly decent role in the US was in the Knights Tale, and that was a few years away from this.
You have my vote, just wondering if he had enough fans at the time...
Conquer your fear, and I promise you, you will conquer death.
You have my vote, just wondering if he had enough fans at the time...Probably not. Aside from Oldman and Hopkins, Cary Elwes (as Lord Arthur Holmwood) was probably the best known actor of the bunch at that time.
No, I agree 100%. A strange choice for Harker.
Another role that I was thought was strange for Reeves was as the killer in the Watcher. Spader was well casted, but Reeves was out of place as a deranged criminal.
Conquer your fear, and I promise you, you will conquer death.
I would've chose Cary Elwes for the role. He was well known at the time and attractive.
shareThe Harker role should've gone to Hugh Grant. He would've been perfect for it.
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/f7bm4r/what_good_movie_could_have_been_great_with_a/fiacmg3/
Daniel Day Lewis or Paul McGann maybe, but definately it should of gone to a british actor.
shareshould of gone
Johnny Depp was originally slated to star with Winona. Keanu was his replacement
shareThey had Cary Ewles right there in the film, he would have been a great choice for Harker
shareI seem to be one of the few who liked Reeves in his role. I don't think he was bad at all.
share^Agreed.
Maybe it's because I actually like Keanu, but apart from his accent, I didn't find anything wrong with his much reviled performance in this film. In fact, I took his presence in this film far more seriously than that of Anthony Hopkins -- his performance was underwhelming and even laughable at times. Anyhow, while I find this film to be a memorable adaption, I'm not particularly fond of most of the performances (including the one delivered by the masterful Gary Oldman).
Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!
oh come on, it was acting from a school play, though I thought Winona Ryder was very good contrary to what a lot of people on this board have said.
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