Keanu Reeves ‘Flipped out’ When He Learned About the Key and Peele Film Named After Him
Keanu Reeves may have inspired the name of Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key’s hit comedy feature Keanu. But at first, it didn’t seem like Reeves wanted anything to do with the picture until an unexpected phone call.
Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key weren’t sure about a Keanu Reeves cameo
Peele and Key already managed to take over the world of comedy with their hit show Key & Peele. But they eventually decided to try to duplicate their small-screen success on the big screen with Keanu.
Their debut comedy was simply about two average suburbanites who get entangled into a world of crime after their cat is stolen. The film features several guest appearances from celebrities like Tiffany Haddish and Method Man. And since the name of the film is titled Keanu, it seemed only fitting for the actual Keanu Reeves to appear in the film as well.
Despite its title, however, both Key and Peele weren’t sure about a Reeves cameo.
“We were like, ‘Should we? Is this a good idea?’ When John Wick came out, we were kind of like, ‘Oh, my God. This is crazy. There’s a movie that has a very similar process that stars Keanu,” the film’s director, Peter Atencio, once told the LA Times.
They eventually tried to float the idea to Reeves, but his representatives rejected their offer. Things changed, however, after Reeves saw the trailer for Keanu.
“Yeah, they politely declined. Who knows if he ever even heard about the offer. But then we got a call after the trailer came out — apparently, his sister showed him the trailer and said, ‘Hey, you gotta see this. You’re gonna love this!’ He flipped out and got in touch with us directly to say ‘If there’s anything I can do, let’s make this work,’” Atencio said.
Keanu Reeves wanted to make sure ‘Keanu’ wasn’t mocking him
Atencio confided that Reeves’ hit action film John Wick actually almost discouraged the crew from getting in touch with the actor.
“We didn’t want to [seem] like we we were making a John Wick parody,” he said. “But the studio kept asking, ‘Can we get Keanu? Can we get Keanu?’”
After they were able to bring Reeves on board, they went to great lengths to make sure Reeves knew the film wasn’t mean-spirited.
“He wanted to talk to me before he agreed to make sure that wasn’t the case. So I told him about the movie and talked him through the story. His personality has just transcended life, in a lot of ways. You wouldn’t have ever guessed that the guy from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure would turn out to be this thoughtful, kind man,” he said.
Reeves would end up voicing the cat named after him in the film. This allowed the actor to do both John Wick 2 and Keanu at the same time.
“Well, he was in Italy making John Wick 2, so we had him go to a recording studio in Rome. I was on Skype with him, and I spent an hour recording a bunch of dialogue. They hooked it up so that I could talk and he could hear it in his headphones. The studio [Warner Bros.] was wanting him to drop a bunch of references to his old movies. But we didn’t want to make it overt or too pointed,” Atencio said.
How Jordan Peele felt about Keanu Reeves calling him ‘wacky’
Because of his voicework, Peele explained that he didn’t actually get to meet Reeves while doing the project. At the same time, Peele was just excited they were able to recruit The Matrix star.
“No, I have not met him. The closest I’ve come to him is through this movie. He’s been responding to questions about it himself. I know he’s seen the trailer and enjoyed it. So much so that we did get him involved. A lot of people don’t realize, but we did get him involved in the movie in a way that I won’t spoil. That’s as close as I’ve been. Apparently, he’s gone on the record saying, ‘Those guys are wacky,’” Peele once told Thrillist.
But Peele felt honored by the description.
“That’s a good quote,” he said. “I’ll take wacky.”
