Keanu Reeves has claimed that he was press-ganged into starring in the serial killer thriller The Watcher after a friend forged his signature on the contract. Unable to conclusively prove the forgery, Reeves says that he finally agreed to take the role rather than face a protracted legal battle.

The Watcher was directed by Joe Charbanic, an erstwhile buddy of Keanu who has also filmed the actor on tour with his rock band Dogstar. The movie starred the Matrix hero as a menacing killer who taunts James Spader's overwrought cop. At the time of filming, there were reports that Reeves was unhappy that what he had envisaged as a minor role had been made the centre of the film. He was also rumoured to have been outraged to discover that he was receiving a reported $1.5m (£1.03m) less than his co-star Spader.

Now it transpires that Reeve's annoyance ran deeper still. "I never found the script interesting, but a friend of mine forged my signature on the agreement," he told the Calgary Sun newspaper. "I couldn't prove he did and I didn't want to get sued, so I had no other choice but to do the film." Reeves says that other legal stipulations mean that he has had to wait twelve months after the film's US release before being able to go public with his anger. "If it's September that means it's been a year, so I can finally talk," he told the newspaper.

At the time of its release, Reeves refused to promote The Watcher. In the event, however, the film spent two weeks at the top of the US box office. But Charbanic's picture met with largely negative reviews and Reeves's villainous turn was pinpointed by many as a major flaw. "Short of getting Angela Lansbury or Rodney Dangerfield or Lassie for the part, the miscasting could not be more complete," wrote the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. "Keanu is profoundly wrong as a serial killer."