So, who should have played Johnny Silverhand instead of Reeves?

[gungadin22000]

Johnny Silverhand is the most awesome man in the galaxy. Super sexy, charismatic rock star genius-slash-mercenary anarchist with a cool robot arm who slays Wilt Chamberlain quantities of poon.

And the person they got to portray him is Keanu Reeves, a man with the sexual charisma of a wooden plank with a mean face on it (thanks Maddox).

Now, Reeves seems to be a very nice man and has had a well-deserved career resurgence as an action leading man due to the John Wick films, but that role required him to be brooding, dark and handsome, which he can pull of just fine.

But Keanu Reeves just cannot do rockstar anarchist sex god. It just doesn't work, and since Johnny's character is so central to the plot of CP77, it really detracts from the storyline as a whole.

So, the question is: which actor SHOULD have been cast as Johnny instead?

For my money, I feel that Henry Rollins woulda been a good fit. Handsome, tough-looking, genuine punk-rock credentials and clearly had a hell of a lot of fun portraying a bomb-throwing anarchist in Batman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxsV9oQ-50A

[gungadin22000]

Originally posted by schpreck:

I think you will find that Reeves was very, very well recieved as Silverhand.
Also Henry Rollins couldn't act his way out of a soap bubble and Mad Stan was probably the lamest villain on Batman Beyond.

Yeah, you could be right about Rollins, I think I overestimated how cool i thought he was in Batman as well as Johnny Mnemonic (another Reeves movie where he also came across as flat and monotone and hurt the movie).

Fans like Reeves as Silverhand because they like Reeves. His performance is as wooden as ever and absolutely doesn't fit the character. His stoicism would fit somebody like Takemura better, although Takemura's voice actor was perfectly cast.

There has to be someone who could put a bit of manic energy and charisma into the character.

[Doctor Zalgo]

Originally posted by Psyringe:

In Reeves' delivery, I feel nothing of that. He plays Silverhand like an old, cynical, depressed ex-revolutionary who doesn't feel much of anything anymore. Someone whose main drive to go on fighting is stoicism rather than passion. That might have made sense if he had actually witnessed the world going down the drain (despite his plans) for 50 years - but that is not the case. The Silverhand that we encounter in the game, is a digital copy of the person that had shortly before thrilled the audience in a concert, and then planted a bomb at Arasaka HQ.

Remember that Silverhand has access to your memories as well (and also your eyes) and can see the results of the his efforts: He took on Arasaki and lost, but worse than that he didn't even bump the needle in a measurable way. Outside of a few elderly rockers and the mercs at the afterlife, Silverhand is a bar trivia question at best and a blank look at worst.

Silverhand watching the outcomes of his actions fail to play out over fifty years might have been demoralising, but instead his nemesis literally stole his soul and then ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up custody of that soul so badly that he was dragged back to live with a bizarre death pact with a stranger who showed him that his anti-corp message mattered so little that he's been almost completely forgotten.

Putting the issue of reeves to one side, you don't want the charismatic rocker here because Silverhand is mourning the loss of his loved ones, furious at losing to Arasaki, recovering from an intense personal violation and flipping wildly between wanting to die and wanting to grab the nearest weapon and head to Arasaki tower.

[Blackheart]

Originally posted by gungadin22000:

Originally posted by schpreck:

I think you will find that Reeves was very, very well recieved as Silverhand.
Also Henry Rollins couldn't act his way out of a soap bubble and Mad Stan was probably the lamest villain on Batman Beyond.

Yeah, you could be right about Rollins, I think I overestimated how cool i thought he was in Batman as well as Johnny Mnemonic (another Reeves movie where he also came across as flat and monotone and hurt the movie).

Fans like Reeves as Silverhand because they like Reeves. His performance is as wooden as ever and absolutely doesn't fit the character. His stoicism would fit somebody like Takemura better, although Takemura's voice actor was perfectly cast.

There has to be someone who could put a bit of manic energy and charisma into the character.

"doesn't fit the character". How so? It's a new character, introduced with the game. So, saying it doesn't fit, is kinda strange. You are comparing Revees performance to who or what exactly and your expectations of how Silverhand should sound are based on what? Can you tell us what exactly should Johnny sound like?

[Tokenn]

Keanu is pretty good...when Johnny gets to ranting, he's very good, so I have no issues with him. However I regard putting 'movie stars' in a role that demand an _actor_ is a gimmick...maybe not a bad one, but still.

I can't name anybody in particular that would be 'better'...but if they had cast a real rockerboy...big ego, big personality, live-wire performer (yes, I know Keanu has a band he plays in, but he has _none_ of those things) the role might have been better done.

[Deklend]

Henry Rollins is overrated and was the weakest member of Black Flag. You can tell the type of person he is from how derisive he is to the idea of playing in a band again where he might possibly be outshined by other members.

Keanu did an excellent job as Silverhand honestly, and this has been one of the few characters that shows Reeves actually has a bit of acting range even if he tends to stick to his comfort level.

Now, if I were to choose a replacement, it'd probably have been Chris Cornell if he were still with us. It'd have been awesome to have him on this soundtrack as he has a vocal range that transcends genre. Since that's not possible though, I could see someone like Sam Witwer stepping into the role...not a musician to my knowledge but he's familiar with motion capture, voice acting, and live action.

[Psyringe]

Originally posted by Mazovian Socio-Economist:

Originally posted by Psyringe:

In Reeves' delivery, I feel nothing of that. He plays Silverhand like an old, cynical, depressed ex-revolutionary who doesn't feel much of anything anymore. Someone whose main drive to go on fighting is stoicism rather than passion. That might have made sense if he had actually witnessed the world going down the drain (despite his plans) for 50 years - but that is not the case. The Silverhand that we encounter in the game, is a digital copy of the person that had shortly before thrilled the audience in a concert, and then planted a bomb at Arasaka HQ.

Remember that Silverhand has access to your memories as well (and also your eyes) and can see the results of the his efforts: He took on Arasaki and lost, but worse than that he didn't even bump the needle in a measurable way. Outside of a few elderly rockers and the mercs at the afterlife, Silverhand is a bar trivia question at best and a blank look at worst.

I'm aware of that, all I can say is that Silverhand's emotions (as delivered by Reeves) still didn't feel "right" to me. I agree that seeing the results of his efforts (or rather, the lack thereof) ought to cause him a lot of grief. But coming to terms with that would have been a process, and I simply don't see this process happening in the game. Silverhand never goes through phases of denial, anger, bargaining, or anything else that would make his change of attitude relatable to me, he jumps straight into cynical depression and stays there (not sure if it ever changes, I haven't completed the game yet).

Additionally, it just doesn't feel plausible to me that a character like Silverhand would be driven by stoicism (which seems to be his only reason to go on fighting, apart from possibly revenge). I would have expected more passion, but Reeves doesn't deliver that. In fact, the rare scenes where he does raise his voice so far, felt rather forced to me - I did not find the delivery convincing in these scenes.

All that is, obviously, at least in part subjective, and if other people feel that Reeves delivered stellar acting in that role, then that's also a valid perspective. But I can see where the OP is coming from, and the critique that he wrote in the OP mirrors my own thoughts while playing the game.

[Sith Lord Seyz]

Reanu Keeves

[Deklend]

Originally posted by Sith Lord Seyz:

Reanu Keeves

How Spiffing.

[Arkanis]

would not change him i like keanu reeves as silver hand

[Ishan451]

Originally posted by gungadin22000:

Johnny Silverhand is the most awesome man in the galaxy.

I find him supremely insufferable and immature. To me he is the worst aspect of the game.

Originally posted by gungadin22000:

And the person they got to portray him is Keanu Reeves, a man with the sexual charisma of a wooden plank with a mean face on it (thanks Maddox).

I very much agree that adding Keanu and by extension other Celebrities to games does not add a thing. Matter of fact, i personally find Jacky much more memorable and i absolutely would have loved if the story had been about us slotting Jacky into our brains.

Originally posted by gungadin22000:

So, the question is: which actor SHOULD have been cast as Johnny instead?

Nobody should have been cast as Johnny. I am fine with Keanu giving Johnny his voice but i find actors in video games to be a detraction.

Like when you meet Jessy Cox in a side mission. Like.. yeah, i guess its a nice easter egg, but it really takes me out of the game.

Originally posted by gungadin22000:

For my money, I feel that Henry Rollins woulda been a good fit.

I would have taken the Player's choices at the char gen, and added a few twists to it. Change a few sliders a bit. To make Johnny look like the Brother of V. And add to the story that it is the similarities on a genetic level that V and Silverhand share have lead to the success of the prototype implant. This ties in nicely with the story and it is not entirely out of the question that Silverhand actually is V's grandpa, given how freely he shared his... love.

Could actually have made that into a side mission, secret ending type of situation. Giving the choices of your background a little more depth. Have some guy call and be like "V, i have been trying to get a hold of you, your grandmas things go to garage XYZ, i stached it there." And you find out she was big into Silverhand and Johnny recognizes her. Depending on how you act it could add more depth to it and give Johnny a reason to sacrifice himself for you..

I mean there are a number of ways this could have been done, but this "generate family based on traits of player character" isn't that uncommon and i think it would have added more to the story than have Keanu run around be Theodore Logan's nerd fantasy.

[Soul]

jack black...

I mean I could see him fit into the passion of a rock star and wanna bring the system down type of mentality...

[V-Fib]

Originally posted by Zaraphiel:

Keanu Reeves is perfect for Johnny, mate.

[Coldhands]

Originally posted by gungadin22000:

Johnny Silverhand is the most awesome man in the galaxy. Super sexy, charismatic rock star genius-slash-mercenary anarchist ...

Mass murderer, terrorist, generally an ***hole. : p

[Loco]

Reeves' monotone ruins any emotions Silverhand should have. The lines themselves are great, but Silverhand's voice sounds about as interesting and emotional as a gas station worker saying 'have a nice day'.

Reeves is a truly nice person, but delivering voice lines with emotion is something he can't seem to do. And for better or worse, he's the bland voice of Silverhand for now.

As for other actors, I'd like to see what someone like Willem Dafoe could do with the role.
Or Dennis Leary, he'd put the anger and wrath into Silverhand's rants.

(Honorable mention for Mel Gibson. I mean, you could probably just say you accidentally put cream in his coffee, then record and edit the meltdown rant.)

[gungadin22000]

Originally posted by Soul:

jack black...

I mean I could see him fit into the passion of a rock star and wanna bring the system down type of mentality...

Damn....I absolutely hate to admit it, but Jack Black could absolutely pull this one off, and I detest Jack Black.

He was great in Brütal Legend and has rock music chops.

Willem Dafoe is also not a bad suggestion, great at manic energy.