Keanu Reeves is one of the most dynamic and keeps-us-on-our-toes talent we have in Hollywood today. Reeves’ decades’ worth of stellar performances span genre, form, and style, yet the A-lister remains a bit of a mystery to the public. From starring in The Matrix franchise to cameo-ing in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (and so much more), he always delivers, but what is he like on set? Good Fortune’s director, Aziz Ansari, gives his perspective on the question.
The comedian caught up with EW to talk all about his directorial debut, which is headed to theaters in the latter half of the 2025 movie calendar. The Parks & Rec alum revealed that ahead of casting, he’d never met the Speed star, but all went well while filming (other than Reeves tripping over a rug and injuring himself for the first time ever on set). He had nothing but glowing things to say about his veteran co-star and equated him to one of the last performers to have a “real movie star aura.” Ansari shared:
Keanu’s one of these guys who’s in pretty rarefied air. You don’t see him around. He’s still pretty mysterious. He’s one of the few guys who still has this real movie star aura. That guy just seems like he’s on a different planet, you know what I mean? It doesn’t seem like we would be able to interact.
Okay, so the public and professional sides of Reeves apparently aren’t too different, which makes this fan feel better. As far as I’m concerned, it makes sense why he is so magnetic in any role he takes on. The intentional curtain the mega celeb has up works on everyone!
The stand-up also mentioned the first time meeting the Bill & Ted actor was when he knew he had to book him, saying:
As soon as I saw him, he had long hair and everything, and I was like, ‘This has got to be him.’
The first meeting even sounds like a great cinematic performance for Reeves! And I can clearly imagine, and hear, The Master of None alum’s processing in my head, funnily enough. Opposites do sometimes attract, and the funnyman and icon are an unexpected but pretty fun pairing.
Ansari reiterated how thrilled he was about the whole thing, from casting to presently talking about his debut. In his words:
I couldn’t believe it. It just turned the movie into something else, and I was so excited. I’m still excited.
The praise of his leading “budget guardian angel” (per the teaser) has me stoked for this release. I’m glad the novice director went back to work on this feature after Ansari’s first directorial debut attempt got canned after set drama involving his then-star Bill Murray. In my opinion, Reeves was the perfect pivot person to start again with, alongside longtime pal Seth Rogen, who also appears in the film.
While I can’t wait for this comedy, I’m also looking forward to the John Wick star’s upcoming action flick, Ballerina. While what we know about Ballerina remains relatively limited, it’ll be so fun to see the John Wick world expand. Which leads me to the question: will we, or Aziz Ansari, come to know Reeves more as the actor after Good Fortune hits theaters? Time will tell.