Keanu Reeves has revealed he was once blacklisted by Fox for turning down a movie role.
The actor sat down with GQ for their May issue and recalled being put in ‘movie jail’ when he turned down Speed 2 after the first installment in 1994 became a box office hit.
Reeves explained that he turned down the follow-up to play in a stage production of Hamlet in Winnipeg, Canada.
The legend: Keanu Reeves sat down with GQ for their May cover feature to chat about his career
‘I didn’t work with [Fox] again until The Day the Earth Stood Still.’ the 54-year-old star remembered of being hired by the studio in 2008.
Fox ended up producing their sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control, in 1997 with Jason Patric starring opposite Sandra Bullock.
Reeves explains he hasn’t done a studio movie since 47 Ronin in 2013, which didn’t do so well in theaters.
When it comes to the John Wick franchise, however, Reeves says he will keep making more as long as the demand is there.
‘As far as my legs can take me,’ he told GQ, while posing on the cover in a slick Chester Barrie suit. ‘As far as the audience wants to go.’
The Matrix star said he never expected to be an action hero in his fifties and admits he had no idea what his career would look like at 54 back when he was starting out.
Cover star: The 54-year-old Matrix star was blacklisted by Fox when he turned down Speed 2 to do a stage production of Hamlet in Winnipeg, Canada in the 1990s. He wears a Chester Barrie suit in his brooding black and white cover image
Box office hit: Keanu starred opposite Sandra Bullock in 1994’s Speed but turned down the second installment
‘I haven’t really thought about my career future, or what was going to happen, until really recently,’ Reeves explained, adding ‘really recently,’ before clarifying ‘probably my mid-40s.’
The actor cuts a brooding figure in a black and white image on the cover of the men’s mag. He wears a pinstripe suit by Saville Row tailor Chester Barrie with black coat draped over his shoulders.
The Bill & Ted star is on the promo trail ahead of the release of John Wick: Chapter 3 and put himself through grueling training with a Navy SEAL to reprise the role.
The darkly lit, action packed trailer for the film dropped earlier this year ahead of the May 17, 2019 release of the film.
In John Wick 3, the title character is still on the run following his assassination of Santino D’Antonio in The Continental.
Flop: Fox ended up producing their sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control, in 1997 with Jason Patric starring opposite Sandra
John, played for the third time by Keanu, has a $14 million global contract on him and is banned from every Continental service.
This forces him to fight his way out of New York City with the help of a hitwoman (Halle Berry) who still trusts him.
Along with John and Halle, the thriller stars Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Saïd Taghmaoui, Jerome Flynn, Tobias Segal, Boban Marjanović, Anjelica Huston and Ian McShane.
Fan favorite: The John Wick star said he never expected to be an action star in his fifties but plans to keep going ‘As far as my legs can take me,’ adding, ‘As far as the audience wants to go.’
