Source: 20th Century Fox"It was a very interesting process for me as a director to watch Keanu portray Klaatu," Scott Derrickson reveals. "We had talked about the physicality of the character, but Keanu worked that out mostly on his own. When we were shooting, I could see some things that he was doing differently in scenes that take place later in the story than the way he behaved earlier in the film. But it really wasn't until I started cutting the movie together that I realized what a thoughtful, seamless transition occurs in his performance. He captured the experience of becoming humanized and recognizing, in all of his alien superiority, what it is about humanity that is remarkable. To do that without being overwrought or overly dramatic is very difficult, and Keanu did it with an amazing amount of nuance."
It was this unparalleled ability to meet the singular challenges involved in playing Klaatu that Stoff recognized in Reeves and sparked his enduring interest in remaking THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL with him. "I know Keanu as an actor so incredibly well, and honestly, I knew there was nobody else who could play Klaatu," Stoff attests. "I knew how right it was for him. It is the perfect union of actor and role. Keanu has a unique ability as an actor to simultaneously evoke a quality of cynicism and optimism. And those are two very important aspects of the character."
Reeves worked closely with Stoff, Derrickson and Scarpa to develop and deepen Klaatu's transformation through the relationships he forges with a mother and son in crisis. "Keanu brought a lot to this film, not only in his performance, but from very early on," Derrickson says. "He spent weeks sitting in a room with David and me, working through every scene of the script, line by line. He was very disciplined, not just about his character, but about the movie as a whole.""I had a great experience working on the script with Scott and David and the producers," Reeves reports. "It was a real collaborative effort and a lot of thinking was put into What are we trying to say? How do we want to say it? I like that within this big action adventure about an alien coming to Earth, we created these intimate relationships that have a real authenticity and impact on the story."
"It's when Klaatu begins to connect more intimately and personally with people that he starts to see the better side of humanity," says Derrickson. "At the same time, because he is contained in a human body, he begins to experience human emotions. So through the course of the story, Klaatu learns more about us than he had initially counted on."
Reeves is one of Hollywood's most sought after leading men. Reeves most recently starred opposite Forest Whitaker in the thriller "Street Kings," released by Fox Searchlight Pictuures. Prior to that, Reeves starred opposite Sandra Bullock in the romantic drama "The Lake House" and in "A Scanner Darkly," a highly stylized blend of live-action and animation. Reeves also starred in the comic book adaptation "Constantine" opposite Rachel Weisz, the independent film "Thumbsucker," "Something's Gotta Give," a romantic comedy in which he starred opposite Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, as well as "The Matrix Revolutions," the final chapter in the blockbuster "The Matrix" trilogy and the follow-up to "The Matrix Reloaded."
His long list of film credits include the smash hit "Speed," plus "Hardball," "The Gift" opposite Cate Blanchett for which he received critical acclaim, "Sweet November," "The Replacements," "A Walk in the Clouds," the hit thriller "Devil's Advocate" opposite Al Pacino and Charlize Theron, "Little Buddha," and "Much Ado about Nothing," opposite Denzel Washington, Emma Thompson and Michael Keaton. Reeves was also seen in "Bram Stoker's Dracula," "My Own Private Idaho," "Point Break," the very popular "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and it's sequel, "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey."
Raised in Toronto, Reeves performed in various local theater productions and on television before relocating to Los Angeles. His first widely acclaimed role was in Tim Hunter's "River's Edge." He then starred in Marisa Silver's "Permanent Record," and with Amy Madigan and Fred Ward in "The Prince of Pennsylvania." He portrayed the innocent Danceny in Stephen Frears' highly praised "Dangerous Liaisons," alongside Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer. He joined other outstanding casts that year in Ron Howard's comedy "Parenthood," and Lawrence Kasdan's "I Love You to Death."
Audiences saw Reeves for the first time as the romantic lead opposite Barbara Hershey in Jon Amiel's "Tune in Tomorrow," also starring Peter Falk. His additional credits include Tri-Star's sci-fi thriller "Johnny Mnemonic," Andrew Davis' action film, "Chain Reaction," and the dark comedy "Feeling Minnesota," directed by Steve Baigelman for New Line Cinema.
Comparing The Two Klaatu's - Apples & Orbits
Film critic Staci Layne Wilson posted this comparison on her blog after she saw the new "The Day The Earth Stood Still":
"Comparing Klaatu to Klaatu is like comparing apples and orbits, but having seen both the original (second time) and the remake yesterday of The Day The Earth Stood Still -- I think both actors were good. They each bring a completely different interpretation. And while there are kernels of the Robert Wise version, the new one is pretty far afield from that... it's comparable to the Speilberg War of the Worlds, but I liked TDtESS better (which isn't a ringing endorsement, either)." - READ MORE
See Also: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)(20th Century Fox) / Klaatu Escapes!! / UFO Lands On Earth!! / Jennifer Connelly - An Abundance Of Talent Can Make The Earth Stand Still / The Day The Earth Stood Still - About The Production / The First Photos From The Day The Earth Stood Still / A New Promotional Banner For The Day The Earth Stood Still
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