Reeves, Keanu (Constantine)

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Suffice it to say, if you’re not familiar with the name Keanu Reeves at this point, you’ve probably got a very nice, comfortable rock you live underneath. Starring in The Matrix trilogy is really what gave him “action star” status, but the truth is he’s been in such a wide variety of film during his time in the business, he’s really indefinable in terms of what kind of actor he is. Now he’s taking the role of John Constantine, and even though a lot of Hellblazer fans weren’t too happy about it, it sounds like he really knows what he’s doing.


Keanu Reeves: (English accent) I want a bigger chair. I want a bigger chair.

Question: You could have done this with an English accent.

KR: (Accented) Yes, I could have. Exactly like that. Now that I have you all in a room I have… good afternoon.

(Non-accented) Oh Jesus.

Q: I heard you guys had some mean ping pong games going on behind the scenes.

KR: (Accented) yes, we had one remarkable afternoon of ping pong.

Q: Just one?

KR: Yeah. As a gift, Francis Lawrence gave me a ping pong table that had Constantine written on it, and while we were on the soundstages at Warner Brothers, Djimon was saying that he had some game, and he did.

Q: What other activities did you have other than ping pong playing with the cast members?

KR: Ah, that was it for frivolity. But we all got along really well and there was a great enthusiasm in the piece from the crew to the cast, which I think is just a testament to what we were working on.

Q: In this movie your character smokes a lot. How many cigarettes did you smoke?

KR: Too much. I guess it’s a character trait that Constantine has, and I guess he’s dealing with a lot and it’s a kind of tool to help him numb himself.

Q: Do you smoke?

KR: Yeah, I do.

Q: What was your familiarity with the Hellblazer comic books and what did you feel about some of the changes such as the fact it was changed from the U.K. to the U.S.?

KR: I wasn’t familiar with the character before I read the script, and when the script came to me, that aspect of the character, being based in London and being English, had changed already. So I wasn’t aware of that. When I read the script and then familiarized myself with the work, I saw that what was important was really the essence of Constantine, and we worked really hard to keep that aspect of it, because it’s really what it’s all about. That kind of hard-edged, hard-boiled, world-weary cynical, fatalistic, nihilistic, self-interested bastard… with a heart (Laughter). I think we did. I mean I hope so. I hope that fans of the comic don’t feel that we sabotaged something that is so well loved.

Q: Several roles you’ve played have had a very spiritual side to them…

KR: Like The Gift. (Laughs)

Q: And some of the actors we talked to about your preparation said that you kept a lot of journals about various sides of spirituality. Can you talk a little bit about the research?

KR: They have no idea what they’re talking about. I mean it’s just… you know in the process for me it’s writing things down, thoughts, aspects for working on the role. I wasn’t carrying around the Path of the Peaceful Warrior in that sense. I think the film speaks for itself in a way, and that’s really what I was working on. If I had anything that was like that, it was a script called Constantine and the journey that character takes for his learning about this kind of curse that was given to him as a kid. “A gift,” another character says, but Constantine doesn’t see it quite like that. I think part of the journey is Constantine understanding his life and the circumstances, and he comes to a kind of ambivalent peace of sorts. So really in a way it was the script, and we were all part of that.

Q: I had a chance to see Thumbsucker at Sundance and I was wondering whether or not it’s important of you to try to mix and match going from a very small movie like that to a big film like Constantine?

KR: I’ve been really fortunate to be able to do different kinds of films in different scales, different genres, different kinds of roles, and that is important to me. Sometimes, you don’t want to play the hero. You want to play another kind of character in another genre, and it’s something I’ve been trying to do if I can in my career so far, and it’s something I hope to continue because it’s interesting to me and you know, you get to do different things as an actor. There are certain joys in the diversity of roles. It’s something I like to do if I can.

Q: You’ve been Buddha, you’ve been Neo the Messiah, you’ve been Johnny Mnemonic the Messiah, you’ve been pitted against the Satan (Al Pacino), you’ve gone to hell with Bill and Ted, you’ve fought Dracula.

KR: Constantine verses the Mummy (laughs).

Q: Of all of your projects this one seems to have dug deepest into established religious tradition. I’m wondering how much of that for you is make believe, means something to other people, and how deeply this spiritual conflict resonates with you, if at all?

KR: To answer your question I’ll start with Constantine. I think of it as a kind of secular religiosity. The piece itself is using icons and a platform in a kind of catholic heaven-and-hell, god-and-the-devil, human souls, fighting for those. I was hoping that these concepts could become a platform that are humanistic, that the journey of this particular hero is hopefully relatable to, even though they’re such fantastic characters and situations, it’s still a man trying to figure it out. In terms of the other roles, I think that those kinds of journeys have something of value to our lives that we can take with us and hopefully in the process are entertaining. I think these motifs of seekers, messiahs, of anti-heroes, heroes; all of these aspects are journeys that I think deal with things that we deal with in our day-to-day in a way, just more entertaining. I think they’re worthwhile, and if we can make them all kinds of stories, story-telling, that is always couched in this kind of engaging entertaining manner, whether it is a shadow play, a circle, a storyteller, our literature, our myths . . . the mediums that we communicate these things often times.

Q: What do you get from acting at this point?

KR: I really love it. It’s my craft. When I was 15, I went up to my mother and said, “Is it okay if I’m an actor?” She was like, “Whatever you want, dear.” In three weeks I was enrolled in an acting class doing Uta Hagen’s Respect for Acting. I think of it as kind of like, and I’ve heard Anthony Hopkins say this, you learn it by doing it, it’s like painting, I would imagine the craft of it, the skill of it, the way that you work the paint, the way that you can act. The more you do it, the more you know it, and for me, it’s what I love. A good day on the set, creating a work, the piece, the collaboration, expression, is a hoot. I love it. I love it and hopefully it will continue.

Q: John Constantine seems to be seeking redemption in the wrong way . . . trying to earn forgiveness . . . trying to buy off God. Do you think repentance is something he needs to do?

KR: Repentance. I think the aspect of repentance is born and expressed in his final act . That’s his repentance; I think that’s what gives him the shot of going upstairs. But there’s also the Constantinian twist of, did he make the sacrifice so that he can go to heaven, or does he really mean it? Ultimately he does, so the man upstairs knows. He’s just like Santa Claus… if you’re telling a lie… naughty or nice, he knows (laughs).

Q: At what point in your research did you feel you finally knew the character?

KR: When seeking a costume, I went to the costumer and she had a rack of clothes and choices of shoes and stuff, and I was just trying things on. There was a concept for the piece. What clothes fit? It was like trying on the hat. I found that moment, I remember putting on the jacket and the shoes and I felt a certain way: “Yeah, this is the Constantine.” So going to rehearsal, I wear my wardrobe and eventually I find not only how they feel, but it seems that how they appear that they seem kind of connected naturally. As apposed to the clothes wearing the man, the man wearing the clothing, and when that happens it’s great. So I kind of knew his core.

In terms of embodying the character, I lowered my register a little bit, working on the way he spoke, I was guided by Francis Lawrence in terms of wanting a kind of hardboiled noir aspect. That has certain traditions in it that I wanted to utilize, especially with his humor, that kind of deadpan humor. When did I know? It happened a couple of days before I shot. The exorcism was the first scene and that helped a lot. When I walked from the window and got on the bed, I was like, “How do I get on this bed?” When Constantine stands up and walks over, it’s like he’s trying to walk over a puddle. I was like, “Okay, I’ve got it.”

Q: Talk about the non-kissing scenes with Rachel?

KR: It’s more fun. It’s one of those things you can see that in the couple, it can be there, yet it can’t be there because it’s not the time or place. There’s a bit of a conceit to it, but I think it’s part of the enjoyment of the piece, I hope. It’s almost like the same thing as an editing choice, hopefully it’s enjoyable and it’s something that I think is in the relationship. There’s something with what they’re going through. They can’t kiss, they want to kiss but they can’t kiss so they don’t kiss but they wanna kiss (laughs). And at the end of the film they do say that they have an interest in seeing each other again, so it’s romantic in that sense.

Q: Having come off of three Matrix films, how do you feel about the possibility of another franchise? Does that worry you? Obviously you want it to be successful, but do you ever worry about tainting the original by trying to outdo the first film and not living up to expectations?

KR: Well, we better not do that because that would suck. You know, my contract didn’t have a second film, some of the producers, Francis Lawrence, and I certainly would, because we fell in love with the guy. I fell in love with the guy. I had one of the best times I’d ever had working on a film working on this particular project. So, we would talk about what could we do? What happens to Constantine? He’s a heroin addict in Morocco (laughs). He’s got a spell, he’s killing people and he’s trying not to kill people so he’s knocking himself out. Then Akiva Goldsman was like, ‘No, he wants to stop Revelations.’ So we would do these kinds of things and ultimately it is up to the audience because that would mean that the studio would have resources to go forward with it. But I would love to play Constantine again as long as I worked with the same people. I mean, definitely Francis Lawrence and Akiva Goldsman and everyone involved in this project because I could not imagine doing this without everyone involved. But I love playing the guy.

Q: A trilogy?

KR: Trilogy, why stop there (laughs)? We could have Son of Constantine. And I’ll play him too, CGI (laughs). No, but it’s a character just as how it exists in the graphic novel, so I would love to play him again. Who knows? I mean, it opens on February 18th, probably by the 30th we’ll know. Because he did such a remarkable job, we’re not going to be able to hire Francis Lawrence again. He’s gone. He’s gone.

Q: What kinds of roles attract you and what attracted you to Constantine?

KR: Well, I first came across the script when I was working on The Matrix in Sydney, Australia. The script came to me and I read it and really enjoyed it. From my first reading to principal photography, it was over a year and a half. So, and in terms of making choices again, it’s like what I said earlier, it’s trying to have a kind of variety of genre and character. But I said yes to it while I was making The Matrix because I didn’t feel that I was repeating myself. Constantine’s a very extroverted role. And so much about it is very different to me than the experience I was having in Matrix but it was still a great script and a great idea and a great character.

Q: Did you have input into the spirituality of the character? Francis said you were working for nine months on the script.

KR: Yeah, I had some great time. He’s a wonderful collaborator. And I worked with Akiva Goldsman as well who’s producing and writing, and met with Frank a couple of times in Sydney. In terms of my impact, the spirituality is a word that I really don’t feel is something to apply to Constantine. And if it is, then it’s very humanistic, as it always is obviously, but it’s more flesh and blood somehow than spiritual. I feel like some kind of flesh and blood aspect of it. My impact in terms of what it was and what it became… one of the expressions is in the end of the film, he’s like, “I guess there’s a plan for all of us. I had to die twice just to figure that out.” Like the book says, he works his works in mysterious ways. “Some people like it, some people don’t” is mine. That’s mine. To me that was the grounds for where Constantine ends up. There’s still that ambivalence that some people like it and some don’t, but there’s an acknowledgement and in that acknowledgement I feel that you’re watching the character that’s dealing with something that happened to him that he didn’t understand. He was given this curse or this gift to be able to see the world beyond the world. In despair as a young man overwhelmed, he takes his own life and he goes to hell. Comes back from hell, he has no idea why. And I think that search of his trying to orient like, (looks up) ‘Hey, fella, I’m doin’ all this work, what are you doing to me?’ and with people. So that was how I felt, so that was my impact.

Q: Are you trying to affect the world in a positive way?

KR: In my art. I’m making up for what I do in life. That’s my penance.

Q: Tell us about that.

KR: Oh yes, do tell. See, no one cares about heaven; they just want the dirt because we can relate to that (laughs). I’m sorry what was your question?

Q: In trying to affect the world in a positive way do you see acting as a vehicle for you to do that?

KR: I think for me personally, I like that aspect in the work that I do because it’s what I enjoy in art. I think to go watch a film and spend two hours, to go out or to be entertained, that’s great. I don’t mind showing a negative side as well, like working in a film like The Gift. That’s not a redeemer, that character. But it was part of a story that was about grief and about dealing with grief, and that film had that element to it. So it’s something that I don’t want to go to a movie and not have something that I can come away with, that I can either think about that adds to something because if I don’t, then it’s like why do I want to spend my time for two hours with assholes? “Thanks. Thanks for the pedophilia (laughs).” It’s like, “Yeah, I know, we’re fucked up, great.” Unless of course it’s really good, like kind of anime, (laughs) but even at the end of that they have transformation, big shooting light. But yeah, if it doesn’t have that element to it, it doesn’t usually attract my interest. I might look at it and think of it as pornography , but it’s not worthwhile enough for me to try. Unless of course I’m broke.

Q: Any tough physical stunt work you did yourself instead of stuntmen or CGI?

KR: I don’t think there are any CGI Constantines in this one. What did I have to do? When Constantine gets punched by the demon and he goes flying backwards, I got to do that. Chad Stahelski, a man I’ve worked with through The Matrix on stunts, he was helping me coordinate it. He’s my double. He was just like, “When you land, taco.” I said, “What do you mean?” He goes, “Relax, don’t fight it.” So when I launched, I almost went out of frame. I don’t know if you see the film again, I almost go out of frame because I pushed off really. And I’m glad he gave me that information because I was just like (whoosh). There was some wirework. I did that roll in the street when the car is coming, dove and stuff like that, but it’s all pretty basic things. It wasn’t like a triple side kick or a wire deal. But it was fun. I like fake fights and doing all that kind of stuff because it’s part of the story.

Q: Was the bathtub scene a challenge?

KR: Well, it was a challenge for Rachel. I just got to sit outside the tub and hold her down. You know what I mean? But she’s a fighter.

Q: But it wasn’t easy for you?

KR: Well, she’s a strong girl. No, Rachel had to do the heavy lifting in that. We shot the scene, we re-shot the scene, and we continued to shoot the scene. It was another angle. I mean, she was in the water all day. And I was just there to support her and help her, which was great.

Q: And drown her?

KR: Yeah, I was supporting her. I was helping her… by drowning her.

Q: Keanu, as both you and Gavin are musicians, I was wondering if you guys talked shop and what it was like to do such adversarial scenes with him.

KR: The adversarial scenes are good clean fun. You know, I like how Gavin had such an enjoyment, he’s one of those guys who you’d love to hate but you can’t. In terms of us acting them, when you come close he’d be just like ‘I’m going to stinkin’ kill you’. So we had good fun. It was really enjoyable and he was working on his album, that I believe is almost finished, my God, I mean he is still making a recording, you know, we spoke a little bit about that.

Q: The gift that he was given, there seems like there is a parallel with what you have to deal with. To find some sort of ambivalent peace with all of the fame and success versus the artistic work that you want to do.

KR: I don’t think that those are two separate things…I mean those are not disconnected. If I have any kind of success per se it comes from the work that I do or am involved in, so that is connected. In terms of the other aspects, I did Constantine with Warner Brothers, but they hired me and I don’t know if they would have hired me to do this if they hadn’t had any success with a project that I was involved in, you know with Matrix or The Devil’s Advocate. The studio’s been a great supporter of the work I do and want to do. That aspect of star and fame is a by-product of work that I have done or been involved in and people have enjoyed hopefully.

Q: So it doesn’t get in the way, you put on a black suit and people say Matrix rather than the character that you are premiering?

KR: Do they? For me when I saw the film I was transported by the film and hopefully the film is engaging enough for the whole two hours and six minutes that you are not going, “He is wearing a black coat, he is wearing a black coat…he is wearing a black coat.” I’m sorry I don’t mean to be flippant, you know what I mean? I just want the character to be able to exist on the screen, to just have the characters exist is my aim and I hope and you know if they both wake up searching for worlds and or if they both have a similarity in costume, hopefully it does not get in the way of them getting engaged in the piece and enjoying it.

Q: Just to follow up on what you said about Francis earlier that you didn’t want a video director per se working on the film. What changed your mind about that in your initial talks with him?

KR: Yeah that came out of an uneducated bias, in the sense that when it first came to me and the production was looking for a director, I felt that the film had such a strong narrative that I was… wary. Then I saw a few reels and I saw Francis’ reel and I thought that he had classicism, a kind of narrative impulse, the way he treated the performers in his videos was very different. They were telling a story, really revealing something about that character, what they offered. I know all videos do that, demonstrate something, but I felt something beyond spectacle, beyond a quick cut; and when I met him, he had basically walls of his concepts, and I spent about two hours talking about his process and his ideas for the film and walked out of there eager to work with him.


Big thanks to Warner Bros. for allowing us to take part in the junket and especially to Mr. Reeves for taking the time to talk to us! To get an idea of just how cool this film is going to be, check out my review of it right here!

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