10 More Best Actor Replacements In Movies
8. Keanu Reeves - The Matrix
Here's one of the most famous and debated casting replacements in cinema history.
When the Wachowskis were putting their sci-fi opus The Matrix together, they offered the lead role of Neo to Will Smith, who turned it down because he didn't fully understand the concept and was skeptical about the film's ambitious bullet time effects. Instead, he went on to star in the mega-flop Wild Wild West.
This led the Wachowskis to instead settle on Keanu Reeves, who of course saw his already considerable fame skyrocket as a result, and even with four John Wick movies behind him, Neo remains his signature role.
While The Matrix would've probably still been a box office success with Smith as the lead, he would've also brought an entirely different energy to Neo.
Reeves' more flattened acting style was perfect for an office drone like Thomas Anderson, whereas Smith's inherent charisma and generally larger-than-life personality would've made him trickier to buy in the part.
Even Smith freely accepts that Reeves was perfect for Neo, while conceding that he would've conversely screwed it up.