Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast - Keanu Reeves Almost Lost Everything

Episode Date: June 29, 2026

Keanu Reeves was forced to star in the 2000 thriller The Watcher when a trusted friend and director Joe Charbanic forged his signature on a contract. Unwilling to endure a lengthy, expensive legal battle, Reeves fulfilled the role but negotiated an agreement to minimize his marketing involvement and keep the forgery quiet for a year

Did you know that Keanu Reeves was forced to make a movie against his will? And it almost ruined his career? So the story starts, of course, with Keanu. And he's around 34 during this time, and he's already a famous actor with some big movies under his belt. But he has no idea that he's about to become one of the biggest stars in the world. And one night, around 1998, he goes to play hockey with his longtime buddy, this guy, Joe. Joe's an aspiring movie director who wants nothing more than to break into the industry, and he's desperate to do so.

So, after the game, they're, you know, together drinking beers, and Joe tells Keanu, hey, man, I got this script for a serial killer movie. I've been trying to get it made, but no one will give me the money. And if Keanu would just make a small cameo, that would be enough to get the movie financed. And Keanu, he doesn't really want to do this favor, but he's notoriously one of the nicest. guy's in Hollywood and he feels bad for Joe, thinking, okay, fine, what's a few days on set if it helps a friend? Whoa. And so they shake hands and they make a verbal agreement. But, neither of them knows just how good this is about to be for Joe and just how terrible this is about

to be for Keanu. And so the two go there separate ways for a while. Kianu goes to work on a movie that would become The Matrix while Joe takes the script with Kianu's name and attached and he shops it around Hollywood. And so for the first time, Joe is able to get a meeting with a studio. So he takes this meeting and he drops Keanu's name and they offer him a budget of $30 million to make his movie. So finally, his dream of becoming a big Hollywood director is about to become true. But then something somewhat unexpected happens. The Matrix is released and it blows the fuck up, becoming a surprise, massive hit. And Keanu, he suddenly becomes one of the biggest movie stars in the world. So when the producers of Joe's movie think about their script, they're like,

Keanu's only in one scene. We've got to get him in more. And so they rewrite the script, and they expand Keanu's role from a small little cameo into the lead as the serial killer. Now, at this point, a normal person would let their friend know that the favorite, they've agreed to do has turned into a much bigger obligation. Like, Joe should call Keanu and let him know exactly what's going on and, you know, make sure it's still cool with him. But that's not what he does. He knows he needs Keanu to get this movie made, and he needs him to sign paperwork agreeing

to do the role. If he doesn't, Joe could lose his chance of becoming a big director, and that's not a risk he's willing to take. And so here's where Joe, allegedly, does so. something diabolical. Instead of getting Keanu to agree and sign the paperwork, he, allegedly, forges Keanu's signature, which legally forces him to do the movie.

And I'm sure Keanu's agent, or whoever's representing him, hears about this, and he's like, you got huge offers coming in, great scripts where you'd make millions of dollars. Why'd you say yes to this little bullshit movie? Because now he's going to have to turn down other offers. while he's making this thing. Not to mention, the role in the movie has also changed. It's no longer a small part,

which would only take like two or three days to film. This is a lead. This is going to take months of his time. So at some point, Keanu gets the revised script, and he reads it, and he can't believe it. Whoa. Not only does he have a bigger part now, but the movie is also terrible.

And so he calls his... lawyer to see if he can help get him out of this mess. And his lawyer basically tells him, if you quit the movie, the production company can sue you for millions. Then you'd have to sue your friend Joe and somehow prove that he forged your signature, which you can't do. And you'd be in two legal battles for years, and that could cost you millions. And so, poor Keanu, he has no choice. He has to make this terrible movie against his will. But then, a bit later, things get even worse for him. Because he learns that even though his role was significantly expanded, his pay was not. He'll only be getting paid union minimum, something that an actor with little to

no experience would get, while his co-stars, James Spader and Marissa Tomey will each be getting a million dollars apiece for their part. So even though Keanu is one of the biggest stars in the world, he's being paid the lowest wage that they can legally get away with paying him. Whoa. And so, poor Keanu, he starts work on this movie, which will eventually be called The Watcher. You might have heard of it. But every day, he shows up to set like a professional, and he gets on camera, and he says lines that he knows are terrible, while the friend who betrayed him is right there directing him.

And clearly, Keanu just wants to get this over with. And his performance is just awful. It's probably the worst of his career. Because, you know, he doesn't want to be there. And at one point, Joe directs him to do, like, a serial killer dance. And so he makes Keanu dance while Keanu just looks like he wishes he were anywhere else. It's so cringy. But anyway, eventually, Keanu finishes making the movie.

However, his troubles are just getting started. Because now, the studio wants him to promote it. And Kianu's like, no way. Because, you know, he doesn't want to be associated with it. And the studio knows that he's mad about the whole situation and that he wants to go and talk shit publicly about it. And so they make a deal with him. Okay, you don't have to do any promotion for the movie,

as long as you don't say anything negative about it for an entire year. And Kianu, he's desperate to not have to promote it. So he signs a deal, agreeing to not publicly trash the movie for 12. whole months. So then the movie, The Watcher, it finally comes out. And it's kind of the worst possible scenario. Because Keanu is such a huge star during this time, largely because of the Matrix, that he's become a big box office draw. And so people actually show up to see the Watcher, probably hoping that it'll be like The Matrix. And unfortunately for Keanu, the Watcher opens up at number one at the box office.

It doesn't stay there very long, but it opens up there. And people absolutely hate it. I mean, it gets completely trashed in reviews. And yes, Rotten Tomatoes was around during this time, and it gets a whole ass 11% critics and 28% audience. And poor Keanu, he gets the blame for all of it. Like, the public just openly declares how terrible he is. He even gets nominated for a Razzie Award, for Worst Supporting Actor.

And so right at what should be the peak of his career, he's being publicly humiliated, but he's legally bound from explaining himself for an entire year. Well, eventually a year passes, and it's now 2001. And his contract expires, and he can finally publicly explain exactly what happened. And so Keanu immediately doesn't interview with... the Guardian and he explains the whole situation to try and save his reputation, saying that he never wanted to make that movie but that he was forced to. But, unfortunately, no one pays attention to his explanation, because that interview is released on a day that something else dominates

the news cycle entirely. September 11th. And so, at the end of it all, his friend Joe never actually faced any punishment for the things Keanu alleges that he did, but his directing career never really took off. While Keanu's career, fortunately, completely recovers, and it takes off and goes to the moon. And he did actually end up making a bit of money from the watcher because he got points on the back end, so he's doing fine.