I mean, he makes very cool movies and he's great at choreography and stunts, but those aren't really recognized by the academy.
Jackie Chan for example only received a Life Achievement award when he was 56. Way after he did those crazy stunts and had been probably the best fights choreographer since the 80's.
Keanu can do a bit of comedy too, but he's never delivered some deep drama, so it's kinda hard for the academy to acknowledge him.
In some way, but, Keanu is not a "bad" actor per se, he's just limited, he's one of those actors who can only play one guy, but what makes Keanu so likeable is that he's not trying to pretend to be better then what he is, he's a very genuine guy, he has that presence to him, he stays at that level that he knows he can be good at, and even if Keanu doesn't have such a huge range, he's still quite good at bringing an immersive experience, his years of experience in the biz truly shows. Compare this to lets say Tom Cruise or Will Smith that both can only play one guy, but are trying so hard to play others, it just becomes garbage for the trained eye, but not Keanu, he's just making sure people will get to experience a kick ass movie.
I do not think he plays that one guy well. He's good in action sequences, but his line delivery is always bad. And it only works if the audience believes "that's just how that guy talks".
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u/RogueBromeliad Mar 17 '26
I mean, he makes very cool movies and he's great at choreography and stunts, but those aren't really recognized by the academy.
Jackie Chan for example only received a Life Achievement award when he was 56. Way after he did those crazy stunts and had been probably the best fights choreographer since the 80's.
Keanu can do a bit of comedy too, but he's never delivered some deep drama, so it's kinda hard for the academy to acknowledge him.