Why Keanu Reeves Turned Down One Of The Defining '90s Crime Thrillers

20th Century Studios

Keanu Reeves has landed iconic roles that range from bullet-dodging freedom fighter to a dude-level time traveler. There was one movie, however, where he would've made for an interesting addition to an already stellar collection of cast members, had he only taken up the offer. According to The New Zealand Herald, Reeves very nearly ended up starring in "Heat," the revered 1995 Michael Mann crime movie (even though Mann didn't see it as one) that had Robert De Niro and Al Pacino face off against one another in a perfect cat and mouse chase. For better or for worse, though, Reeves instead chose to tread the boards in a Canadian theatre production of "Hamlet."

Had he taken the job, Reeves would've played the number two to Neil McCauley (De Niro), Chris Shiherlis, which instead went to Val Kilmer and became one of the actor's career highlights. Luckily, though, Reeves still managed to work with one of the film's screen titans just a couple of years later when he replaced Brad Pitt in 1997's "The Devil's Advocate" (starring opposite a louder-than-usual Pacino).

At that point in his career, though, saying no to projects that could've potentially led to career defining roles (equal to the ones he ultimately ended up with) wasn't anything new for Reeves. In fact, another notable offer had come the actor's way some years before that in the shape of a role in "Platoon." But even more shocking, given what was to come in his future, was the reason that Reeves passed on starring in what would become one of the best Vietnam War movies ever in the first place.

Orion Pictures

As famous as Keanu Reeves is nowadays for clearing out rooms of nameless goons with nothing but a gun and a tie when the need arises in the "John Wick" films, the actor apparently (but politely) declined to star "Platoon" on account of it being too violent for his tastes. A reminder that this is the same man who would one day go on to kill a guy with a pencil in one of his movies.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly to commemorate "Platoon" turning 25 in 2011, director Oliver Stone reeled off a list of potential stars that were eyed for the lead role of Chris in the film, chief among them being Reeves. "That's right, Keanu turned it down because of the violence. He didn't want to do violence," Stone explained. Of course, history and guns (lots of guns) confirm that Reeves' reluctance to get a little rough on screen had dissipated by the time he was starring in movies like "The Matrix" and "John Wick" (both of which have become cornerstones of his career).

Years after "Platoon" hit theaters (with a young Charlie Sheen starring as Chris), Reeves discussed the level of violence in his films during a 2023 interview with The Telegraph. Despite his reputation for being a pretty chill dude in real life, the man they call Baba Yaga has his reasons for putting on a new black suit as the retired hitman: 

"I liked his suffering. I liked his grief. And then on the other side of that I liked his will. I liked his violence."

Whatever you say, Mr. Wick.