Keanu Reeves jumped at the chance to play a heightened version of himself in ‘Always Be My Maybe’.
The 54-year-old actor was enthusiastic about "sending up that actor-star culture" in the new Netflix romantic comedy and director Nahnatchka Khan was impressed that Keanu was secure enough to make fun of himself with the role.
The movie tells the story of childhood best friends Sasha (Ali Wong) and Marcus (Randall Park) who reunite after 16 years apart. Just as Marcus is ready to admit he has feelings for Sasha, she starts dating Keanu.
Khan told the Los Angeles Times: "Keanu completely got it. First of all, he read the whole script. A lot of the time somebody of his stature will just read their section. He read the whole script and saw how his character fit in. You’re tracking Marcus during that section because he’s trying to tell her how he feels and she throws this grenade, and it feels like his worst nightmare: It’s literally Keanu Reeves that she’s dating.
"He trusted myself, Ali and Randall to make the joke into what we’d talked about; he is not the butt of the joke – he is in on the joke with us. It’s like James van Der Beek in ‘Don’t Trust the
B—-.’ They all think it’s funny as well, and it’s their version of sending up that actor-star culture."
Keanu was also praised for his improv skills, with Khan explaining that he was keen to contribute to the script.
She said: "When we were shooting on the day there were a lot of funny jokes he was pitching because he thought it would be funny if he knew a lot of Chinese dignitaries and started listing them. Of course Keanu would know that. He knows everything."
Keanu Reeves thrilled to play absurd version of himself in Always Be My Maybe
