Keanu Reeves is not only Hollywood’s darling, making him one of the most popular gentlemen in the entertainment industry with all his chivalrous deeds, but also one of the most talented actors of all time. That’s not all, because he is also incredibly kind and humble in the roles he plays on screen, whether in the action or other genres.

But alongside all the masterpieces in which he was perfectly cast, there were also some major failures that could have seriously jeopardized his career because he seemed so out of place in them. One of them was his $47 million work with James Spader, The Guardian – the very scene that Reeves was tricked into and is grateful didn’t land him in Hollywood jail!

Keanu Reeves was tricked into The Guardian

Published in September 2000, The Guardian saw James Spader as FBI agent Joel Campbell, who is chasing a serial killer in a thrilling game of cat and mouse. This would be Reeves’ villain, David Allen Griffin. But what kind of psychopath could there be who has spent years bullying young girls, his character was just underdeveloped enough to make Reeves seem like a clone of the Zodiac Killer.

Of course, Keanu Reeves had his own reservations about the role from the beginning. To say the least, he “never found the script interesting”, meaning he had no interest in playing him to begin with. But what started with him agreeing to a supporting role as a friendly favor eventually ended with him playing the big bad guy for a meager salary of reportedly $1.5 million.

This is all thanks to Joe Charbanic, the director of the critically panned crime thriller. The Matrix Star openly admitted to the Calgary Sun newspaper (via The Guardian):

I never found the script interesting, but a friend of mine had forged my signature on the contract. I couldn’t prove he had done it and I didn’t want to get sued, so I had no choice but to do the film.

Needless to say, the film was nothing short of an absolute flop when it comes to its place on Reeves’ resume. Not only was the John Wick The actor is at his worst as he tries to come across as arrogant and smug for the role, but his psychotic and critically underdeveloped character also stands out considerably from the background – and not in a good way.

Although the film grossed $47 million at the box office worldwide on a budget of $30 million (via Box Office Mojo), the 59-year-old actor was anything but happy about it and how it turned out for him. If anything, when he spoke about it years later, he even called it an absolute “Disaster” without missing a beat.

Keanu Reeves feels The Guardian Was “a catastrophe”

For someone who hired him without his permission, Keanu Reeves was obviously unhappy with The Guardian. Although he was finally able to reveal the heinous crimes his friend had committed against him 12 months after the film’s release, he did not hesitate to reveal his true thoughts about it more than a decade later when he was busy promoting John Wick in 2014.

Speaking to IndieWire, he said:

This was a different kind of horror film. Oh, it was a disaster. I hate this film. It’s awful. It’s a disaster.

Well, Reeves’ disappointment is understandable. At the same time, the matter ultimately proved fruitful for him, as even this disastrous film did not land him in Hollywood prison. All this was due to the successive The Matrix Sequels followed, whose masterpieces saved his fame as well as his name and his game.

“The Watcher” is currently available to stream on Prime Video.