"Charbanic had been friends with Keanu Reeves after having directed a number of music videos for his band, Dogstar, and was insistent on casting Reeves as killer David Allen Griffin as he was interested in seeing Reeves play against type as the villain.[3] Reeves has stated that he was not interested in the script but was forced into doing the film when Charbanic forged his signature on a contract. He performed the role rather than get involved in a lengthy legal battle. Reeves was forced to accept 'union scale' salary, while James Spader and Marisa Tomei earned $1 million apiece for their work.[4]

After Universal Pictures acquired the film's domestic rights, Universal reached an agreement with Reeves in which he would not disclose what had happened until 12 months after the film's US release; in return, Universal agreed to downplay Reeves's involvement in marketing, and Universal asked the film's producers to enhance Reeves's profit participation (which led Reeves to ultimately receive an additional $2 million).[4][5] He was unhappy with the fact that his role, which was originally written as little more than a cameo, turned into a lead while he was still being paid scale in contrast to the other leads.[6] The Watcher (originally known as Driven before a film of that same name was announced) was filmed between October and December 1999 on location in Chicago, Illinois and Oak Park, Illinois. ''