Back in May 2019, Keanu Reeves’ appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert went viral for his thoughtful answer about what happens when we die. As it turns out, that response inspired the “Colbert Questionert,” a segment meant to “penetrate the soul” in a series of 15 questions. Last night, it was the Matrix Resurrections star’s turn to step up to the plate, and he didn’t disappoint.
Taking his time to answer each question, Reeves revealed his favorite action movie is Roller Ball (“Violence, a game, and philosophy, social commentary. Fantastic!”), shared his affinity for toasted crunchy peanut butter sandwiches with honey (“sweet and savory”), and picked Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” as his desert island song.
The actor also admitted he’s a hoarder and was unable to pick one thing to throw out. For the pet lovers out there, Reeves told Colbert that he prefers dogs, but is “starting to really like the cats, too.”
Reeves’ most specific answer was his favorite smell. “Today, I’m going pick my 1974 Norton Commando when the engine warms up,” he said. “When you’ve been giving a good go, the oil in the engine heats up, and the smell that comes off the engine is really good.”
Perhaps his most amusing answer was an anecdote about asking George Carlin for an autograph. “He wrote, ‘Dear Keanu, Fuck You,'” Reeves remembered. “I always thought he just wrote that for me, but then I met someone else who said that he wrote the same thing to them.”
Closing out the segment, Reeves characteristically chose to be optimistic while describing the rest of his life in five (technically six) words. “I’m going to be hopeful,” he said. “Health. Love. Friendship. Create art. Motorcycles.”
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Watch all of Reeves’ answers to the Colbert Questionert below, followed by the segment that started it all.
In December, Reeves went viral once again from a different talk show appearance. On Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk, he revealed that his mother created Dolly Parton’s Playboy cover outfit, which he later wore for Halloween after she was done with it.
Reeves is coming off the December release of the very meta Matrix Resurrections and recently helped to dispel speculation about planned sequels. Fans hoping to catch him back in action as John Wick will have to wait another year, however, as Chapter 4 has been pushed back to March 24th, 2023. He’s also set to star in Hulu’s adaptation of The Devil in the White City from Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese.
