The only time Keanu Reeves went method: “I enjoy that process”
Keanu Reeves isn’t an actor you would particularly want to go method. If he’d done that for the John Wick franchise, then a lot of people would have been left in a puddle of their own blood. As for The Matrix, this would have required dodging bullets in slow motion in real life, which would not have ended well for him.
This might explain why the Canadian heartthrob has avoided the controversial practice for most of his acting career. According to an interview with Playboy, the one time he did opt for this tactic was while making the 2000 movie The Gift. Directed by Sam Raimi and co-written by Billy Bob Thornton, this pseudo-horror stars Cate Blanchett as a widowed woman with psychic abilities. Reeves plays Donnie Barksdale, the abusive husband of one of the main character’s friends.
“I tend to bring it home until I feel I know the guy I’m playing. If I’m doing an accent, I may answer the phone in the accent,” Reeves said of his acting technique. “When I worked on Sam Raimi’s The Gift, I was going to bars and hanging out, jumping into the truck and wearing thick clothes. I enjoy that process of immersing myself in a character.” The movie is set in Georgia, so Reeves was able to take on the persona of a ‘good ol’ boy’ outside of work.
Donnie is a real piece of work. His wife, Valerie (Hilary Swank), lives in constant fear that he will assault either her or their three children. When a local woman goes missing, and her body is found on his property, he immediately becomes the prime suspect in her murder trial. Of all the characters Reeves could have chosen to take home with him, this ranks up there with the sleaziest.
“A part of me was afraid of my violent side,” Reeves confessed. “Once Hilary and I were improvising in a trailer. I just kept saying, ‘You’re lying. You’re lying. You’re lying.’ We were rehearsing this argument, and Sam said, ‘Every time you say, ‘You’re lying,’ instead of saying it, just hit her.’ Hilary was like, ‘No, Donnie, I wasn’t—’ [makes slapping noise] ‘Donnie, I wasn’t—’ [slaps] Sam was like, ‘Grab her face.’ This went on until, finally, I pushed her up against the wall and started taking her pants off. I stopped, but it was very scary. It was like, ‘Oh, shit. Okay. Now I get it. I get it.’ It was very frightening.’”
Unsurprisingly, this experience put Reeves off method acting for the rest of his career. Donnie is an absolute piece of work, even if he is reprived somewhat over the course of the movie. You can understand why Reeves felt the need to get so deep inside the character – it seems miles away from his usual ‘nice guy’ persona – but delving into the brain of a sadistic domestic abuser can’t be good for your mind. Other actors have given up on method for far less.
Unfortunately, Reeves’ self-inflicted psychological torture was all for nought. The Gift received middling reviews and is an almost entirely forgotten part of both actor and director’s filmography. Sometimes, though, it’s just as important to understand what you’re not willing to put yourself through. Hopefully, Reeves considers this a lesson learned.
