Michelle Pfeiffer predicted Keanu’s stardom in “Dangerous Liaisons”

Keanu Reeves and John Malkovich in Dangerous Liaisons

Warner Bros./Everett Collection Courtesy

Michelle Pfeiffer predicted stardom for a young, unknown Keanu Reeves.

The revelation comes as director Stephen Frears comes on board Hollywood ReporterHe happened upon a Hollywood podcast to discuss the making of his 1988 hit, Dangerous relationships.

The film starred Glenn Close and John Malkovich as conniving aristocrats in pre-French Revolution Paris who manipulate the people around them through sex and deception. Their victims include characters played by Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman.

Reeves, then 23, was cast as Le Chevalier Danceny, a handsome musician who catches the attention of Close’s Marquis de Merteuil and falls in love with the naive Thurman – and then duels Malkovich’s Valmont for her honor.

Speaking on the podcast, Frears pointed this out Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure He was released after a few months Dangerous relationshipsReeves turned overnight into a major movie star.

“But when he fired, it hadn’t erupted yet,” Frears said. “I saw a lot of young actors (for the role) and I said, ‘I love him.’ (Screenwriter) Christopher Hampton actually thought I had gone crazy. But I said, ‘No, no, he’s the one.’”

He continued: “He was the best person I had ever seen.” “In the end, you have to believe in things. And make it all believable. You could see that Glenn wanted to sleep with him, and people would fall in love with him. He was a nice boy.”

Reeves arrived in Paris for the shoot looking “completely lost.” But after spending some time with him, Pfeiffer told Frears that Reeves was destined to become a “big star.”

“They all took a shine to it – the girls (in the group),” Frears says.

Dangerous relationships It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won three, for costume design, art direction, and adapted screenplay.