Steve Schaffer
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Apr 15, 1999
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- Real Name
- Steve Schaffer
There are plenty of highly regarded young actors around (Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhall) who have not demonstrated any more "range" than Keanu Reeves has as far as different types of characterizations.
This is not to say they're bad actors, they are very good at the parts they do play. It's just that most of the characters they've played have been pretty much interchangeable. I didn't see a whole lot of difference between the characterizations Maguire played in Cider House Rules and Spiderman.
Reeves was good in The Gift, and that part was much more of a departure from his usual characters than any Maguire or Gyllenhall have attempted.
I strongly disagree that the character of Neo in the Matrix films was a throwaway, or that anyone else could have taken over the role in the sequels and been believable.
Reeves doesn't mug at the camera and may not be the most effective cryer in Hollywood, but he does demonstrate a certain integrity in his performances and in his personal life that I find admirable. We don't see him trumpeting his latest adventures in rehab or flaunting his romantic exploits all over the tabloids.
This is not to say they're bad actors, they are very good at the parts they do play. It's just that most of the characters they've played have been pretty much interchangeable. I didn't see a whole lot of difference between the characterizations Maguire played in Cider House Rules and Spiderman.
Reeves was good in The Gift, and that part was much more of a departure from his usual characters than any Maguire or Gyllenhall have attempted.
I strongly disagree that the character of Neo in the Matrix films was a throwaway, or that anyone else could have taken over the role in the sequels and been believable.
Reeves doesn't mug at the camera and may not be the most effective cryer in Hollywood, but he does demonstrate a certain integrity in his performances and in his personal life that I find admirable. We don't see him trumpeting his latest adventures in rehab or flaunting his romantic exploits all over the tabloids.