Keanu Taylor
Keanu Taylor is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Danny Walters. He was created by EastEnders writer Daran Little and introduced by executive producer Sean O'Connor in episode 5511, broadcast on 15 June 2017. The character's first departure aired in episode 6084, broadcast on 21 February 2020. Keanu made an unannounced return in episode 6607, broadcast on 13 December 2022. His second and final departure in episode 6826, broadcast on 25 December 2023, saw the character be killed off. Following his on-screen death, Walters makes five additional appearances as Keanu between episodes 6837 to 6860, 10 January to 20 February 2024, appearing as a hallucination as part of Denise Fox's psychosis storyline. Keanu's storylines in the soap primarily revolved around his affair with Sharon Watts, and the resulting feuds from her husband Phil Mitchell, and Phil's children Ben and Louise Mitchell.
Upon the character's announcement, he was billed by O'Connor as being a positive, family-oriented man of morals. As his time on the serial continued, the character became more temperamental, and increasingly prone to outbursts and poor decision-making, with Walters noting that Keanu had the potential to be a dangerous person. In 2020, it was announced that Walters would make his first exit from the show to pursue other roles. In December 2022, Keanu was reintroduced by Chris Clenshaw in an unannounced return. Clenshaw said he decided to bring the character back due to Keanu having "unfinished business", and promised a matured version of the character. In February 2023, Keanu was listed one of seven potential victims for "The Six" storyline after it was revealed that a male character would die on the show's upcoming Christmas Day broadcast, eventually transpiring to be the victim, as he was stabbed to death by Linda Carter.
Across his run, the character received a mixed reception. Critics noted his initial lack of narrative relevance during his first stint, with some feeling the character had been underused. His affair with Sharon was considered controversial due to their large age gap, but several critics appreciated the drama that stemmed from it. His surprise return and eventual death scene garnered generally positive reactions. Walters won [|several awards and nominations] for his portrayal of Keanu, including the award for the best "Newcomer" at the 23rd National Television Awards and the award for "Best Exit" award at the Radio Times Soap Awards.
Development
Casting and introduction
In a Digital Spy interview, actor Danny Walters said he received the part of Keanu Taylor after attending a workshop organised by the show. He admitted he was uncertain if producers were considering creating a new family but knew they were casting and developing new characters. Later the same day, he was informed that he had been cast as Keanu, with details surrounding the character initially being kept vague. Walters was required to shave his head with clippers for the role, which he was initially unaware of, having expected only a light trim. Despite his surprise, the actor opined that the hairstyle change helped Keanu appear older and "more rugged". The show announced the Taylor family's arrival on 10 May 2017. The family was composed of Keanu, his mother Karen Taylor, and his siblings Bernadette, Riley, and Chatham. Before the announcement, Walters had to keep his casting a secret from friends and family.A few weeks after beginning filming, Walters said he was welcomed by the cast and crew. Walters had Adam Woodyatt, who plays the long-running character Ian Beale, as a mentor on set. He commented on the "huge buzz" around the Taylor family's introduction and noted his excitement to see what was in store for the characters, promising Keanu would do everything in his power to maintain the peace in Albert Square. Walters found it easier to arrive as a part of a family unit, believing there would have been more pressure to succeed if his character had been introduced individually. The actor found himself being challenged by the fast-paced production of working on a soap opera, learning to prioritise his first take of a scene as the most important. Keanu, alongside the Taylor family, made their first appearance in episode 5511 of the soap, broadcast on 15 June 2017.
First departure
In September 2019, executive producer Kate Oates told the press that the secret of Keanu and Sharon's affair would be "blown up" during the soap's upcoming Christmas episode, with the storyline set to be a major plot point. In response, Walters teased "big emotions" and "big stunts" for the episode and that Keanu and Sharon's affair, which had been built up for a long time, would take an intense turn. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Walters would leave the show to pursue other roles. Considering himself an "avid fan", Walters said that he had enjoyed playing Keanu and that the show would always "hold a special place in heart". Executive producer Jon Sen said that Keanu's stint would conclude in a "dramatic and blistering" manner, with the truth set to come out in "spectacular fashion" and leave severe consequences.The soap's final 2019 Christmas Day broadcast, episode 6048, saw Martin Fowler ordered to kill Keanu, with the episode finishing with a gunshot being heard from outside an abandoned warehouse, a cliffhanger that left Keanu's fate ambiguous. The show later revealed that Martin refused to kill Keanu and helped him fake his death, with Keanu exiting by leaving Walford in early January 2020. Both Keanu's falsified murder and his airport exit were leaked by the media before airing as the actor was seen filming on-set. Two weeks after his character's on-screen exit, Walters was seen filming for the soap's 35th anniversary episode on the River Thames.
Keanu would eventually return to EastEnders ahead of the 35th anniversary specials, with the intention to both run away with Sharon and get revenge. Walters teased that Keanu would target Ben Mitchell's boyfriend, Callum Highway, because of Ben's role in organising Keanu's murder, comparing their feud to a game of chess: "It's essentially like a game of chess and to get to the King, which Keanu sees Ben as, he needs to go after the most precious thing to him, and that's Callum". Keanu goes on to hold Callum hostage. It was later confirmed by the soap that, as revenge, Ben, Phil, and Keanu would engage in a final showdown during the anniversary. Keanu's eventual involvement in the death of Sharon's son Dennis Rickman Jnr prompts her to disown him, telling him to leave Walford. Keanu complies, leaving the show in episode 6084, broadcast on 21 February 2020.
Return
Over two years after Keanu's departure, in episode 6607, broadcast on 13 December 2022, Keanu made an unannounced return to Walford after having lived in Portugal. The show's typical practice of airing episodes early on BBC iPlayer before broadcasting them on BBC One was broken to conceal the return from spoilers. Explaining his decision to bring the character back, executive producer Chris Clenshaw said Keanu had "unfinished business" since his exit and had a lot of people to make amends with. Clenshaw added by noting the character's growth, explaining that Keanu had "matured" over time and, in his words, "left a boy and he returns as a man". Walters echoed this, detailing that Keanu had become "a new type of character" during his time away from Walford. Walters explained that Keanu's return was motivated by his newfound desire to be a good father figure for his son Albie Watts, to prove to himself that he was unlike his own violent father. Addressing Keanu's feelings for Sharon upon his return, the actor explained that she had always provided Keanu with "purpose" and "drive" as a result of their intense mutual romance.When writing the character's return, the codename 'Neo' was used to refer to Keanu by the production team and Walters to prevent his return from being leaked, a reference to Keanu Reeves' character Neo from The Matrix. Talking about how the opportunity to return presented itself, Walters said in a Radio Times interview that he had been called by Clenshaw, who shared brief insights into upcoming storylines, which enticed Walters to return. Walters voiced his excitement about the planned developments for Keanu and was grateful to return at the end of a significant episode of the serial, the funeral of Dot Cotton. Walters detailed his struggles to keep the return news a secret from friends and family.
Second departure
After Clenshaw confirmed the soap's 20 February 2023 broadcast would leave viewers with "a lot of questions", it was revealed to be the show's first-ever flash-forward scene, showing six female characters – Sharon, Linda Carter, Denise Fox, Kathy Cotton, Stacey Slater and Suki Panesar – standing over the body of an unidentified dead man in The Queen Victoria public house, with the only clues to his identity being his sex and the body wearing a black suit with amber cufflinks. The storyline became known as "The Six", in reference to the six female characters who were in the frame to be the murderer.Keanu emerged as a prominent suspect for the identity of the dead body, as a result of his feud with Phil, his recent return, and his increasingly hostile behaviour. On 7 December 2023, he was confirmed as one of seven official suspects to be the dead body, alongside Phil, Dean Wicks, Jack Branning, Nish Panesar, Ravi Gulati, and Tom "Rocky" Cotton. Deemed a "late contender", he was considered one of the suspects because of his involvement in Albie's faked kidnapping, Sharon's secrets regarding Albie's paternity, and because Sharon was depicted wearing a wedding dress in the flash-forward, with later confirmation that she and Keanu would marry on Christmas Day. Keanu was briefly ruled out due to Walters being seen filming for the episode wearing a grey suit, not a black one like the body, and due to being less deserving of a brutal punishment than the other candidates. Ahead of the Christmas, Clenshaw teased to viewers: "As we head towards Christmas, it will become apparent and it will become very clear who the potential body is, not who the body actually is, but who the potential ones we're looking at are and the ones that it could be". He added: "Christmas Day in Walford is always momentous" and praised the fans' speculations.
Watched by 3.6 million people, "The Six" storyline unfolded on Christmas Day 2023, where it is revealed that while Keanu died after being stabbed by Linda Carter, he was not the body on the floor. Walters felt honoured to play the victim, and opened up about how challenging he found it to keep plot details under wraps "to have as much impact as possible". Reflecting of his time on the soap, he considered his favourite Keanu moment to be his arrival alongside the Taylor family. In a later interview, Walters detailed that when he initially returned, he had known that his character would be killed off. He noted that he struggled to keep the secret for the year, but succeeded. Discussing his character's development across his time on the serial, Walters stated: "The only thing that Keanu ever wanted was to be a dad and to have a son; as soon as that was taken away from him, his whole purpose and his character completely changed within a split second". He accredited Keanu's fear and insecurity over losing Albie as the reason for Keanu's out of character outburst. Walters was allowed to keep Keanu's work uniform as a souvenir.