10 Actors Who Died As Heroes (& Then Lived To Become Villains)

1. Keanu Reeves

Died A Hero - The Devil's Advocate/TheMatrix

Considering what he goes through in the John Wick movies, you might tend to believe that Keanu Reeves has developed a sort of fictional immortality that protects the brand of his characters. But that's not entirely the case.

Not only does Neo ostensibly die at the end of The Matrix trilogy (even though he's coming back SOMEHOW), but he also did so in The Devil's Advocate to thwart the Devil from using him in a nefarious plot to take over and doom the Earth. He takes his own life, speaking of the value of free will and while he's then trapped in a loop and destined to probably live it eternally until he does what the Devil wants, it's a great heroic moment.

But Became The Villain - Man of Tai Chi

Just prior to his revival as John Wick, Reeves made arguably his most interesting movie appearance, playing one of very few outright villainous roles for Man of Tai Chi. In it, he plays Donaka Mark, a mysterious head of an underground illegal fighting world investigated by the Hong Kong police and entered by Tiger Chen (Reeves' own Ta Chi teacher), who ends up turning mole.

It's a typical martial arts role, even if critics hated it and a sort of passion project for Reeves, who could absolutely play these roles again.

Which other examples belong on this list? Share your own below in the comments thread.