Keanu Reeves Revealed the Hilarious Explicit Autograph George Carlin Wrote Him
Keanu Reeves has worked with a lot of legends during his career and one of his most iconic co-stars was George Carlin. Reeves recalled how he thought he had a special autograph from Carlin but the comedy legend signed the same explicit message to someone else.
Keanu Reeves got a hilarious autograph message from George Carlin
During a Q&A interview for Esquire, Reeves was asked about working with Carlin. The comedian played Rufus in the first two Bill & Ted movies (and appeared as a hologram in Bill & Ted Face The Music).
When asked, “Do you have any favorite memories of working with comedy legend George Carlin,” Reeves recalled the experience and the hilarious autograph Carlin signed for him.
“A legend comedian. A legend human being and he was really awesome to Alex [Winter] and I,” Reeves said. “Such an important voice. He signed an autograph for me. I didn’t ask very often, but I asked him for an autograph. And I thought what he wrote to me was really special, which was, ‘Keanu, f**k you.’ And that made me laugh. I loved it.”
Reeves later found out it wasn’t that special but found it “awesome,” nonetheless. “And then one day I met another person who had gotten a George Carlin autograph and he wrote their name and ‘f**k you.’ And I just think that’s awesome,” he said.
Keanu Reeves said George Carlin was ‘very impactful for my world view’
In a 2020 interview with USA Today, Reeves recalled Carlin being “such a humble, hard-working, present, cool guy.” The actor’s respect and admiration for the comedian were evident.
“For me, there’s like the George Carlin before I met George Carlin and then working with George Carlin and knowing him after,” Reeves explained. “From the legacy of his thought and comedy as a performer, [he was] one of the greatest of all time and very impactful for my world view and humor.”
Reeves’ Bill & Ted co-star Alex Winter shared how they all had “a meaningful relationship,” adding, “and to work with him when we were at that age, he was a giant especially to people of that generation. He was a titan. So to have developed something like a friendship or a friendly rapport with him was very sweet and profound.”
Reeves and Winter recalled feeling ‘childlike’ around Carlin
While discussing Bill & Ted Face the Music during an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music in 2020, the co-stars shared their experience working with Carlin. “He was so nice to us, he was such a professional,” Reeves said. “Alex and I were gobsmacked to meet him, to be working with him.”
The actor continued, “The first [movie], he was total pro but I think there was a part of him that was like — and this was kind of cool of him … kind of like, ‘What am I doing here? But I’m here and I’m going to do the gig and I’m going to do it really well. And I’m going to play it straight. Not gonna comment and I’m gonna understand what we’re doing.’ And he’s Rufus.”
Winter added, “I think that was kind of his view of his life on this planet.” He also pointed out that Carlin’s performance had “heart and sincerity.”
Reeves recalled filming the scene at the Circle K in particular, calling Carlin “the grown-up in the room.”
Winter agreed, noting how he felt “very small and very childlike in [Carlin’s] presence.”
