After Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure gave Keanu Reeves’ career the required push, the actor was adamant about challenging his skills as an actor by taking more artsy projects. This resulted in him joining forces with Francis Ford Coppola to craft Bram Stoker’s Dracula and star alongside River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho. But it wasn’t until he worked alongside the Wachowski siblings. when he was allowed to test his acting chops to the max and stretch his range as an actor.
Considering the John Wick Star put the directors to the test with his obsession with doing several retakes, Reeves joked his desire might’ve even broken the late Stanley Kubrick.
Keanu Reeves Felt He’d Have Broken Stanley Kubrick With His Obsession
Known for being a perfectionist, Stanley Kubrick was famous or rather infamous for taking too many takes, with one example being The Shining‘s staircase scene, which reportedly took 127 takes. However, it seems Kubrick would’ve found his match if he joined forces with Keanu Reeves, as the John Wick Star had no problem going for an absurd amount of takes to deliver perfection. Reflecting on the subject, Reeves joked he might’ve even broken The Shining director through his obsession, stating,
“After take 400, Kubrick would’ve been, [adopts grizzled Brooklyn accent] ‘All right, cut,’” Reeves said. “And I’d be, like, ‘Stanley, can I do one more?’ ‘Whaaat?’ ‘Look, I know I’m just drinking this glass of water, but I think I can find another side to this. Let’s just do one more, OK?’ ‘Arrrgh, OK, Reeves.’ You know what? I would’ve broken Kubrick. ‘Please, sir, can I have some more?’ ‘Take 600. All you gotta do is walk across the road.’ ‘Come on, Stanley, one more!’”
But unfortunately, before the actor could’ve collaborated with the perfectionist, Kubrick sadly passed away at the age of 70, just days before The Matrix hit the big screens and took the world by storm.
Stanley Kubrick Blamed the Actors for Resolving to Absurd Amount of Takes
Reflecting on the hoopla that surrounded Stanley Kubrick regarding his obsession to do several takes, the director once clarified he only did several takes when the actors weren’t good. The director blamed the actors, claiming they can be pretty undisciplined at times. He explained,
“Actors are sometimes undisciplined enough not to go home and go to sleep at night and learn their lines, and they go out. They cannot act without knowing dialogue. If you have to think about anything when you’re acting you cannot work on the emotion. It’s happened on every film. There’s really not much you can do about it.”
It appears even if Keanu Reeves had gotten the opportunity to work alongside Stanley Kubrick, the director would not have resolved to 100s of takes, following Reeves’ commitment to the craft.
Source: The Guardian
