Keanu Reeves Dealing With ‘The Whole Truth’ After Daniel Craig Exit

Two months ago, "The Whole Truth" production was ready to start to turn on the camera, but four days before it start, "Skyfall" actor Daniel Craig dropped out of the leading male role. The hunt for an actor to replace Craig and play the role of a defense attorney for a wealthy teenager accused of murdering his family began, and then the production approached Keanu Reeves.

Reeves officially joins "The Whole Truth", a courtroom drama, that will be helmed by "Frozen River" director Courtney Hunt. He will work with Renee Zellwegger, Gabriel Bosso, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw who have already previously signed for the film.

The "Constantine" star doesn't seem to mind taking the replacement role. The movie he accepted as a "second choice" actor and fortunately became a box office hit was "The Matrix". The role of Neo was first offered to "Men in Black" actor Will Smith. Perhaps, it is hard to imagine Smith doing the signature bullet-dodge scene by Reeves.

The abrupt exit of Craig delayed the production, but having Reeves finally fill the vacated role, the pre-production is now set in July in New Orleans. The set was originally in Boston, and the change in location will also change the character of the lead male role a bit; "The Matrix" actor will play as a Southern lawyer instead of Boston-based attorney. The production line-up has also some changes. Richard Suckle and Charles Roven are now executive producers and Anthony Bregan and Kevin Frakes are the sole producers. Bregan Frakes had previously worked with Reeves on comedy-drama movie "Thumbsucker" in 2005, while Frakes in the upcoming movie of Reeves "John Wick".

It is not the first time that Reeves portray a role of a defense attorney. He was first seen in a courtroom defending a client in the mystery thriller film "The Devil's Advocate" in 1997. Award-winning actors Al Pacino and Charlize Theron also starred in the film directed by Taylor Hackford.