When Keanu Reeves was cast in the lead role in The Devil’s Advocate in 1996, he wasn’t yet the megastar he is today. Sure, the Canadian had had success with the “Bill & Ted” comedies and had appeared at the box office as an action hero opposite Sandra Bullock in “Speed.” However, in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” and Kenneth Branagh’s “Much Ado About Nothing” he played only second to third fiddle. Furthermore, Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Little Buddha” was praised less for its performance and more for the beauty of its recordings.
The Matrix series and the John Wick franchise were still in the future, and it was important at this point for Reeves to finally find recognition as a serious actor. When the opportunity arose to play the main character in the psychological and mystery thriller from “An Officer and a Gentleman” director Taylor Hackford, he immediately accepted. For ‘Speed 2’ he even turned down a significantly higher salary.
In “The Devil’s Order,” Reeves would play young lawyer Kevin Lomax. It begins in a powerful law firm run by the clever and ruthless John Milton – played by Al Pacino. At first, Lomax does everything he can to win Milton’s favor. But over time, he begins to suspect that his boss might be the devil in human form.
Afraid of Al Pacino
The closer we got to the start of filming, the more nervous Reeves became. Although he had worked with some real film greats before, he had never worked with a mime he admired as much as Pacino. This fact gave him more than a little creep, as Reeves would do years later Interview with the American edition of “Playboy” known person. The fact that the Hollywood legend was even involved in the psychological thriller was partly due to him.
According to reports, Reeves gave up a good chunk of his salary (we’re talking two million!) so that the production could secure Pacino’s services, which weren’t exactly cheap at the time. On the one hand, because he loved the Godfather and Scarface star and believed that performing alongside him would also improve his own performance. On the other hand, because he was firmly convinced that the film with Pacino as the devilish law firm boss would be a success with audiences and critics. And that was what Reeves really wanted.
The stars met during the first rehearsals in a Manhattan loft. Reeves remembers. , he laughed. Pacino, famous and infamous for his eccentric, often choleric outbursts in front of and behind the camera, turned out to be a very sensitive and generous colleague. He clearly noticed the tension in his young counterpart and was able to successfully relieve it with patience and charm. Reeves said happily.
The ice was broken and the two men, as well as Charlize Theron, who played Reeves’ wife, harmonized excellently. And even in the moments when the characters they embodied didn’t necessarily. When the thriller was released, it received many positive reviews and earned three times its budget. Shortly afterwards, Reeves went to Australia, where he appeared in front of the cameras for a project called “The Matrix”…
Besides, they came Johnny Depp and Al Pacino get along much less well – you can read the story behind it here:
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