Keanu Reeves does things differently. The actor has turned down millions in the past because he didn’t like a script and instead, would take a pay cut to work a project he was passionate about.
In the following, we’ll take a look at what happened behind the scenes during the 1986 classic, Platoon. Several actors were considered for the film, and that includes a young Keanu Reeves. The actor ended up losing out to Charlie Sheen for the role, and it was all because of the actor himself, who deemed the film, too violent.
Given the way his career went with other roles, we have reason to believe Keanu might’ve regretted turning down the role.
Johnny Depp Was Also Considered For Another Role In Platoon But Oliver Stone Deemed That He ‘Wasn’t Ready’
Back in 1986, Platoon was a major hit, bringing in $138 million, off a small budget of $6 million. Not only was the film a major box office success, but it also thrived in terms of reviews. Rotten Tomatoes rated the film with an 89% approval rating, while IMDb gave the film 8.1 stars on 10.
Many young actors were considered for the role of Chris, and that included Johnny Depp. Ultimately, director Oliver Stone deemed that Depp was still to inexperienced for a main role, though he knew the actor was going to be a huge star.
“Frankly, it’s going to sound cliche, but I clearly believed he was going to be a star,” Stone confessed. “He was a great-looking kid. He was considered for other roles, but I didn’t think he was quite ready at that time to play Charlie’s role. We got to know each other pretty well in the jungle and I really thought he was going places. He was shy. I think it was before Jump Street.”
Another upcoming name considered for the role at the time, none other than Keanu Reeves.
Keanu Reeves Turned Down Platoon Because The Script Was Too Violent… But His Film Trajectory Changed Drastically During The Late ’90s
A major revelation made by Oliver Stone, Keanu Reeves was once considered for a role in Platoon. However, at the time, it seems as though Keanu had a different vision for his career.
Stone revealed, “Keanu turned it down because of the violence. He didn’t want to do violence.”
Well, it seems like somewhere along the way, Keanu changed his mindset… Over a decade later, Keanu changed his career trajectory thanks to The Matrix.
Not only that, but speaking of the violent genres, John Wick would take things a step further. Given his resume, we have to believe Keanu might have at least some regret about turning down the project.
As for Charlie Sheen who got cast in the role instead, the actor was overly eager to get started.
“Charlie was a dumb-struck 17-year-old the first time he came in for the film, back when we were going to make it in ’84. And in those two years, he’d grown and seemed perfectly wide-eyed and had a vaguely privileged look,” Stone revealed.
Keanu made the bold decision to turn down the role but in truth, it was far from the only film that the actor would turn down.
Platoon Wasn’t The Only Project Keanu Reeves Turned Down During His Career
Keanu Reeves didn’t steer away from action flicks and in fact, during the ’90s, he changed his career thanks to Speed alongside Sandra Bullock. However, once it came time for the sequel, Keanu felt differently, as the script just didn’t connect with the actor.
Reeves recalls, “At the time, I just didn’t respond to the script,” Reeves revealed. “I really wanted to work with Sandra Bullock, and I really loved playing Jack Traven.” It wasn’t against any of the artists that were involved in the project, but at that time — I’m sure we’ve all had this kind of feeling sometimes when things just don’t feel right, and that was how I was feeling,” Reeves said.
He added, “I loved ‘Speed,’ but… now it’s on an ocean liner?”
This time around, Keanu was right to turn down the sequel, as the film lost millions while it was torn apart in reviews. To this day, co-star Sandra Bullock calls it the biggest regret of her career.
