Keanu Reeves stopped by Reddit to candidly answer questions about his life, past movies, and his upcoming movies 47 Ronin and Man Of Tai Chi. It’s a rare thing for Reeves to give an interview, particularly one conducted online when he (in his own words) “doesn’t use social media.” We used this as an opportunity to post Keanu memes and GIFs because internet.
We’ve collected our favorite answers from Keanu Reeves’ Reddit AMA accompanied by photoshopped (some made by us) which may or may not have anything to do with Keanu Reeves’ answers. I just really want to use Sad Keanu, Helmet Keanu, and Yay Keanu memes. It helps that he has such a great sense of humor about the memes.
(Banner picture via Getty Images.)
Naix: Are you immortal?
Keanu Reeves: No, but energy cannot be created or destroyed they say.
o0OIDaveIO0o: Hi Keanu! How do you think your life would be different if you had chosen the ‘blue pill’?
Keanu Reeves: I think if I had taken the blue pill, it says I would go back to sleep and I would have never known what was happening. Which sounds very depressing. So I’m glad I took the right pill.
jdm0212: Hey, Keanu! What was your reaction when you first saw your face on a meme?
Keanu Reeves: My first experience with that was Sad Keanu, and I thought it was funny!
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Mustang10988: What do you think about the picture of you sitting on a bench looking sad?
Keanu Reeves: I think that a picture can tell a thousand words, and none of them can be right. Or true. I’m absolutely a very happy person.
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lastkajen: Hi, what do you like the most, cats or dogs?
Keanu Reeves: Apples and oranges. I’m going to say some days cats, some days dogs. Depends on the cats and dogs you meet.
jeztwopointoh: Mr Reeves, lets say…. hypothetically speaking, you saw something extraordinary and it took you aback, what would your reaction be?
Also, imagine if there were no hypothetical situations.Keanu Reeves: I would say “My! Look how extraordinary that is!”
NightsirK: …You win this round.
MagnumPunk: Who is a director you’d like to work with in the future? Any genres you’d be really interested in doing?
Keanu Reeves: Today I will choose Martin Scorsese. Steve McQueen. David Fincher. I’d love to work with Rebecca Miller again.
I’d love to do a Western. And also a musical.
Luke-thighrocker: You, in a western, would be amazing!
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NorthItaly: What is your favorite movie?
Keanu Reeves: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Here’s some: Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now, A Clockwork Orange, Stroszek.AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH: You called?
Aethos: Of all the characters you have portrayed in your movies, which one did you feel was the most like the real you?
Keanu Reeves: Mmmmm. When I think of a role, I start with my own life experience and who I am. And I get to meet this character. And I think we come to a third place, which is me and the character and transforming into this third entity to tell the story. So all of these characters have some DNA of mine, I share it with the character.
[Editorial note: WHOA.]
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HansBlixJr: burden of fame question: if a fan sees you on the street, does a quick ‘hi keanu’ bother you? what about a stop and chat? would you prefer people see you and then not bother you at all?
Keanu Reeves: It’s always nice to say hi to folks. You know, it really depends on the moment. Sometimes you have the time to hang out, and other times you don’t. But yeah, it’s always nice to say hi.
bradg0620: What’s a fun fact that most people probably don’t know about you?
Keanu Reeves: For a long time in Los Angeles when I first moved there, when I was 20 years old, it was such a new world and so I saw some guys at a gas station once who had hockey equipment in their car, and I asked them what they were doing, and they said they were playing street hockey, so I asked them if I could play. So I became involved in a street hockey game that took place every weekend for over 10 years, every weekend, red versus black. We would take holidays off and sometimes summers, but the game was going on for over 10 years. That was cool to be a part of. It was a cool thing to have happen. Made some friends.
[Editorial note: Keanu makes friends everywhere he goes.]
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slayvelabor: Do you ever just look up at the stars?
Keanu Reeves: Absolutely! I believe the other night we had an eclipse of the moon! Which was cool. In the cities, I wish you could see more of the stars, but I always love when I’m in places where you can see that blanket, that twirling, twinkling. That is one of my favorite things.
Im_an_antelope: Hi Keanu, thanks for doing this. Out of all the movies you have been in, what has been your favorite movie to film and why?
Also, did you get to eat any of those meatball subs from Point Break and how were they? Or did Gary Busey eat them all?Keanu Reeves: That is a very difficult question to answer. I’ve been lucky enough to have many great experiences. I would say in the 80’s, River’s Edge. I think working on My Own Private Idaho, working on Little Buddha, The Devil’s Advocate, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Johnny Mnemonic, The Matrix Trilogy, Constantine, A Scanner Darkly, Dracula, recently Henry’s Crime, Generation Um… let’s see, and there’s more. I did a film, my first feature in Los Angeles called The Night Before. It was my first lead in LA in the 80s and it was a great experience to start the career off. I’ll finish with that.
Gary Busey got the sandwiches. I had to go run and chase the bad guy.
[Editorial note: Gary Busy always gets the sandwiches.]
lvbnhbq13: What’s your favorite kung fu movie?
Keanu Reeves: AUGHHH that’s a tough question! Today I will start with “Enter the Dragon” as the source. “Fist of Legend.” “Tai Chi Master.”
DankSpliff: Do people ever come up to you when you’re, say, in an elevator, and quote any of your more renowned lines from the Matirix, Point Break, or Bill & Ted? If so, what’s your reaction generally like? Do you ever mess about with your fans and tell them you’re actually an FBI agent with a straight face?
I remember going to an LA Avengers arena football game and then all of a sudden, you appeared on the screen and people lost their shit and started cheering because you were there. Is it safe to say you’re a fan of arena football?
Keanu Reeves: On the street yes, sometimes people call out lines. Which is usually pretty fun. And yeah, my friend actually invited me to that arena football game. It was a good night.
Yeah_Yeah_No: If you could tell your past self one thing what would it be?
Keanu Reeves: It’s a tough question. Today I will choose: at that intersection of Hollywood and Gower, the car’s not going to stop for the yellow light, so don’t go through there.
oi_oi_oi: Looks like Keanu is referencing one of his previous motorcycle accidents for those who may not know.
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picklmnop: Do like to air guitar in real life? One of my friends asked this and we’ve been debating for a while.
Keanu Reeves: You know, I’m not an air guitar afficionado. But once in a while, the air guitar comes out. Especially when you first hear (especially for me) that chord or that moment in the song when the electric guitar cuts in, or blazes out, once in a while you just got to strum all those strings in the air.
rickety_cricket66: You totally still have the phone booth time machine from Bill and teds excellent adventure in your living room don’t you?
Keanu Reeves: I WISH! That was a rickety phone booth they had. It’s lost in time.
lesi20: Greetings Mr. Reeves! Do you still planning to do the Cowboy Bepop movie?
Or Bill & Ted 3?! That would be ExcellentKeanu Reeves: Cowboy Bebop does not look like it is going to happen with me in it. The script that was written was great and amazing, but it would cost like half a billion dollars to make it, and while I wished and hoped I would have done that project, we are working on trying to get Bill & Ted 3. There’s a script and we are trying to put it together.
Lucy_Smith: Dying of excitement! You’re an absolute idol to me. My question(s) is how was it filming Bill and Ted? Did it excite you or was it a bit tedious? Also, how does it compare to other films you’ve been in? It’s my personal favorite. Thanks for taking the time to do this AMAA!
Keanu Reeves: Working on Bill & Ted was certainly an excellent adventure. I love those characters. I love the spirit of the film. I like the eternal goodness of these characters. I always thought of them as beautiful fools. They bring a wonder and naivete to the harsh realities of the world. I found them fun to play, and also working with Alex Winter was a great experience. We shared the same view of these characters and the film, and we had a lot of laughs making those movies. And Alex and I are friends.
theENERTRON: Thank you for some of the greatest action movies of all time.
• Like your life, your movies span many centuries. Which film left the biggest impression on you?
• Is there any chance you and Sandra Bullock could get together for a proper Speed sequel, or at least another action movie?Keanu Reeves: First of all, thank you, I’m glad you like some of the films I’ve been in. Before the Matrix, Point Break was really my first big break into action movies. And then with SPEED, I was given the opportunity to try, I worked with a wonderful stunt coordinator called Gary Hines who put me under the bus, and let me dangle down elevator shafts, and I think that those two films really helped prepare me for what I was getting into in terms of the Matrix. Definitely when I was going into the Matrix and meeting the Wachowskis, I knew that we were going in to do something that was special. There was four months of training before filming. And the ambition of the project was really exciting to be a part of, and then to actually be on the set and realizing the vision of the directors was one of the special moments of my life.
That sounds GOOD! I would love to be able to do that. I don’t think it would be on a SPEED project. But you know, you never know in the future, if there’s something we could do.
[Editorial note: They could call it Ludicrous Speed.]
schizoidone: Point Break is one of my favorite movies and I’ve seen it countless times. Got any interesting behind the scenes stories?
Thanks for the AMA. Love your work.Keanu Reeves: Point Break! Mmmm. Let’s see, interesting stories…you know, it was an exciting film to be a part of. Kathryn Bigelow the director really wanted to push the boundaries of what actors could do and with the camera, trying to put the audience and inspire the audience of viewers with the environments, so the surfing, the skydiving, in a way that even the excitement of a bank robbery. And I think all of the actors and the crew felt that, the fight scenes, so there was a real energy from her that I think came through the picture. And working with the wonderful Patrick Swayze, he really spearheaded that as well in that he was jumping out of airplanes while he was filming, the other actors were jumping out of airplanes, I was getting to go surfing, everyone was getting into it. No one robbed any banks. The party scene had some partying going on. And I remember actually I was in LA and Kathryn was casting for the female lead and I remember I saw this woman come in driving this old beat up Cadillac and I was to meet actresses that day, and I saw this woman and I said “that’s the actress,” and it turned out to be Lori Petty, and I was right. And she’s amazing.
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flatliner718: How was it working with Dennis Hopper?
Keanu Reeves: I first met Dennis Hopper on River’s Edge, and Blue Velvet had not come out yet, but he was really open and congenial and you know, it was cool to sit and have lunch with the guy. But he was talking about his work, Frederic Elmes was shooting the River’s Edge and he had shot Blue Velvet and Dennis Hopper was sharing the story of the guy he had just finished playing, just off the hook in this film, and I had been really affected by Eraserhead by David Lynch, and he was just really an open, cool, hanging out guy. To me, he is someone I grew up watching and was inspired by in Apocalypse Now and Easy Rider, and then when I got to work with him on SPEED, there was a part of me that was like “i’m doing a fight scene with Dennis Hopper” and I said to myself “My! How extraordinary!”
He was just so open, had a wonderful sense of humor and outlook on life that he shared, so it was really cool to have been in his life.
Withnohalo: In an industry where so many people lose themselves, how do you keep your soul and stay true to self? You are so generous, kind and such a beautiful spirit, how do you stay grounded? Signed, I’ve been waiting for the past 20 some years. :)
Keanu Reeves: Well thank you for saying that. And it’s easy to stay grounded. The ground is very close. And we walk on it every day.
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sidelikes: I just wanted to tell you that Constantine is my all time favorite movie and I loved your interpretation
Keanu Reeves: Thank you for that! I mean, I know it’s not literal to the source material but I was hoping and I hoped that with the adaptation of the material that I was hoping to keep and was really attracted to the character, he’s one of those optimist cynics, he is world-weary but as his core he wishes it was not so, and the burden of knowing too much. So I hope that at its core that we came across to the people who love the original.
anakinmcfly: You’ve played 8 characters named variants of John: Johnny Utah, John Constantine, Johnny Mnemonic, Jonathan Harker, Don John, John Proctor, John Wall and now John Wick. What’s with all the Johns? Coincidence, or something more?
Keanu Reeves: You know, I was thinking that just the other day… as I was going to set for John Wick. I was actually counting them as well. I think there’s something, for some reason, the name John is attractive to storytellers to hang their characters on. It seems to embue or resonate with a strong, open quality.
[Editorial note: For our convenience, we’ll say this koala’s name is John.]
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Theworst2013: Do you keep any props or stuff like that from your movies? Like the jacket and sunglasses from The Matrix, or the surf board from Point Break?
Keanu Reeves: I have kept a couple of things. I don’t have the surfboard, but I think I have a coat from the first Matrix. I have the sword from Hamlet, I kept a lot of working scripts, I have the jersey from The Replacements, I’ve got Constantine’s lighter and watch, I have Bill & Ted’s shorts (Ted’s shorts), I used to have the leather jacket from My Own Private Idaho but I gave that to a friend. And I think that’s it.
blueeyedandserious: Heya, thanks for all the great entertainment and more so for becoming a good example of someone visibly evolving over time. No questions here, just wanted to say that overall you seem like a funny, entertaining, intelligent and cool guy who has made a lot of entertaining movies. You’ve no doubt, even counting films alone, influenced a large number of people positively.
Keanu Reeves: Thank you for that! And it has always been my hope to be a part of works of art that entertain and that people can come away with something more or positive as they walked out of the dark into the world.
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0ldboy: Just wanted to say you were the bomb in Sweet November. I’m a man and I cry every time I watch that movie, which is probably too often.
Keanu Reeves: Yeah, Charlize Theron is lovely in that film. Heartbreaking.
PerpetualFunkMachine: Did you just humble-brag about kissing Charlize Theron?
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