Seriously, you couldn't find a better Shakespearan actor anywhere?
Sean Bean would have been perfect to cast! And yet he's not in it at all. Or heck, why not Eric Bogosian? Or Al Pacino?
You cast all these great actors- Robert Sean Leonard, Denzel Washington, Emma Thompson, Kate Beckinsale, yourself- yet you had to put in Keanu?
I'm with you. The rest of the cast is fantastic.
shareIt's my opinion that Branagh likes to throw in popular "hot" actors to make his films more accessible. Like in his Love's Labour's Lost, he had his typical cast, and then also Alicia Silverstone (?) and Matthew Lillard (????). At the time, Keanu Reeves would have been a young actor gaining notoriety (between a Bill and Ted movie and Speed), so I think he was trying to keep it hip and fresh.
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by "hot" I meant up-and-coming or popular. Keanu would probably have been coming off of Bill and Ted, Matthew Lillard and Alicia Silverstone from Scream and Clueless, respectively. I think he was trying to make it accessible to a younger audience by casting the "it" actors of the time. Unfortunately, Branagh doesn't appear to be a good predictor of career longevity.
And I'm not trying to defend his choices, I think these were all poor choices, I'm just trying to explain one possible reason for it. I can see how the producers or the studio might sit around a conference table brainstorming how to turn this "stuffy" Shakespeare into a blockbuster.
Well Don John is a wooden character to being with, by casting a great actor to play Don John would kinda be insulting, he doesn't have much lines, he's not very much of a villain, I like to think of him as that annoying high school kid that likes to play mean jokes on people. When I think villian I think Heath Ledger as the Joker or Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs.
I mean come on, if we're talking about big time villains like Heath Ledger's Joker or something it would make sense to cast a GREAT actor.
Keanu's wooden acting fits Don John's role, because both are very inadequate when it comes to relating to people and emoting, as an actor and a character.
You, duncan_spursdude, have hit the nail on the head. I've been hearing complaints about Keanu in this film since 1993. Now, I'm not saying that no actor could have given a better performance, but the role is a stiff. I am certainly no Shakespeare expert, but from what I've read many do consider this one of his 'worst' villians in the fact that we see so little motivation for his skullduggery. (Yay - I got to use that word! )
He's the bastard son, so he's a bad guy and wants to make mischief. That's the role. Not one that lends itself to a lot of shades and subtlety. I know that one of my best friends saw the film because she heard that he appeared shirtless in the film, and 17 years ago that meant something to her! Now she's one of the ones who talks about how terrible he is - but the film is one of her very favorites. I'm sure there are others who saw the film because he was in it, and got to see a masterpiece. (This film is my favorite of all time.
You think you’re smart, but you’re not. You’re dumb. Very dumb. But you’ve met your match in me!
Yes. This.
Anyway, Keanu's always enjoyable. Even when he sucks.
Well to be fair, Keanu was more than just the Bill and Ted guy, even in 1993.
share because Alicia (who no one respects as an actor, at best none outside of Clueless fans) and Matthew (most people dont know who he is or respect him much either for playing Shaggy and Stu) are so popular.
I love Jesus AND Jesus-hating atheists and am 100% proud!
Surely you can read well enough to have noticed when I said that they seemed to be popular *at the time*. My point was that Branagh may have chosen them because they appeared to be rising stars at the time that they cast the movie.
shareReeves started in Shakespeare, thats how he was discovered. You may stereotype all you want, and even if everyone i met agreed with you, there is no one who can tell me he can't act. I love his acting. Especially after a 35 movie marathon, in which i truely see the difference in his acting and characters.
shareKeanu Reeves was just right. Robert Sean Leonard was the bad casting choice.
shareThe best choice, however, was Brian Blessed. He was incredible.
But yes fiery death for Reeves. Most certainly. Though the part itself wasn't that well scripted. I liked a few lines but most of it was quite painfully obvious.
Reeves was actually okay, I agree with the other poster, Robert Sean Leonard was miscast.
"I am the ultimate badass, you do not wanna `*beep*` wit' me!" Hudson in Aliens.
As I recall, Branagh was required to cast several popular American actors in order to get the movie made (which seems silly, since this was never really targeted at popular audiences in the US, but played the art houses). This explains the casting of Denzel Washington (who was quite good), Micheal Keaton (whose performance is controversial, though I rather liked it) and Reeves (who was indisputably horrid).
shareActually, Keanu Reeves played the role really well: the socially inept, younger, brooding, mischievious, brother of a prince.
shareI agree that KR is a bit of a single-note actor but under the right direction, he can be believable and enjoyable.
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