Keanu Reeves hasn’t always been a go-to star to lead the best action movies in Hollywood. As the ’80s gave way to the ’90s, the name Keanu Reeves was associated predominantly with being the goofy star of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
However, in 1991, Reeves delivered one of his best ’90s movies and became an action icon with his work alongside Patrick Swayze in Point Break. Reeves plays rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah, who goes undercover in the surfing community in order to track down a gang of bank robbers.
Even now, 30 years later and with the Matrix movies and John Wick movies under his belt, Reeves is eternally grateful to Point Break director Kathryn Bigelow.
Appearing alongside fellow John Wick cast member Scott Adkins on The Art of Action, Reeves reflected on how much of an odd prospect he was for Point Break at the time, as strange as it seems in hindsight.
He said: “You think Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure in an action movie? Yeah, that would work. It’s not something that’s like ‘oh yeah, let’s have Keanu Reeves in an action movie’. She [Bigelow] fought for me, and it changed my life.”
Thankfully for all of us, Bigelow fought Reeves’ corner and gave us one of modern cinema’s foremost action stars. The likes of Matthew Broderick, Val Kilmer, and Charlie Sheen all could’ve played the role instead, but we doubt they would have given us what Reeves has given us since.
For more on Point Break, find out why lawyers had to stop Patrick Swayze jumping out of planes. As for Reeves, check out our John Wick 4 review to examine his latest gun-fu installment and learn about how Clint Eastwood’s best Western inspired John Wick 4.
We’ve got a curated list of the best movies ever made, as well as a guide to all of the new movies coming in 2024. And if you’re after more action, check out our picks for the best movies like John Wick.