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Rosie O’Donnell’s 90s talk show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show was huge and it spurred so many different cultural moments. From her “Kids Say the Darndest Things” to the wild Tom Cruise love, Rosie walked so Ellen DeGeneres could fly. Although she’s long since retired from acting and hosting life, Rosie, who moved to Ireland earlier this year, appeared on an Australian talk show, Sam Pang Tonight, to reminisce about her talk show. Barbra Streisand was her favorite guest, Martin Short was her best guest, and Keanu Reeves was her worst guest. If you’re worried that Keanu was a d-ck to interview in the 1990s, don’t worry! According to Rosie, he was nice but not an easy interview for an extrovert like herself.
Rosie O’Donnell this week described Keanu Reeves as one of the “worst” guests on her hit talk show back in the day.
Yes, that Keanu Reeves, the “John Wick” and “Matrix” star who’s been dubbed the Internet’s Boyfriend for his good-guy-ness and humility. O’Donnell explained Reeves’ 1997 appearance on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” to Australian talk show host Sam Pang after naming her favorite guest, Barbra Streisand, and best guest, Martin Short.
“One of the worst, who, I love the guy, but he’s not good on talk shows: Keanu Reeves,” O’Donnell revealed Monday to a surprised audience on “Sam Pang Tonight.”
“He’s so sweet, he looks gorgeous, I love all his movies, but he would not answer a question,” she continued. “I’d say, ‘So, Keanu, how’s it going? How are you feeling?’ ‘Good.’ … We were live. We couldn’t retape. I finally said after like three minutes, ‘You know, Keanu, it is a talk show. You have to talk.’”
“But he did come back, and he got the hang of it,” she said. “But he’s a lovely man and a good-hearted guy, so I don’t wanna throw him under the bus.” (A joke, perhaps, about Reeves’ 1994 actioner “Speed,” which involved a bomb-rigged bus?)
“I could have said Tom Selleck, which would have been easier to do,” she said, referring to her famous clash with the actor over gun reform and the NRA after the Columbine massacre in 1999.
I want to shout, ”LEAVE KEANU ALONE!”, but I also think that Rosie has a real, harmless point here. Part of Keanu’s charm is that he’s not a man of many words. He says what he means and he means what he says. Sure, maybe a PR guru could have helped him channel his dry sense of humor at some point, but we love Keanu for the pointed, charming introvert that he is.
Rosie O’D, like me, is from Long Island. We love to talk. We love when people talk to us. I can understand why Rosie would be frustrated that someone as badass as Keanu wasn’t matching her energy. It just wasn’t his style! That’s what we all love about Keanu, right? He marches to the beat of his own drum. He’s polite and happy to answer questions and meet an interviewer where they are, but he’s still going to hold his cards close to his chest. Having watched my fair share of interviews with him lately, I think he took feedback because he has improved over time. He’s never going to be the most open guest, but he’s gotten better at answer questions and giving us soundbites.
Here’s Rosie’s interview with Keanu:
Keanu may not do the most talking, but he sure is a great listener. He also likes to think before he talks – take a few beats, think about it carefully, then give his answer. So, yeah, not what a talk show host wants for that sound bite. lol.
I watched him, Seth Rogen, and Aziz Ansari do the GQ interview, and he listened, with his whole body, while the other two talked and at one point even pointed to one, then the other as they told a story. 🙂 Absolutely does listening to a fine art. LOL.
I can’t believe he’s older than both those two guys.
If you’re a Keanu fan it is worth checking out his New Heights interview with the Kelce brothers. I know some people don’t like their interview style but he seemed so relaxed and happy talking to them.
I was pleasantly surprised by Keanu’s New Heights interview – I wasn’t sure if the vibes would match. But it was a very charming interview and Keanu seemed very relaxed and engaged.
I was just going to say this! It was a good interview and the bonus episode where they talk about The Replacements was especially good. He seemed very relaxed with them and there was good dialogue.
I think longer form podcasts and even YT shorts are better for a lot of celebs. I don’t need 2 hrs but have found some celebs a lot more interesting, relaxed when given a little breathing room (see also Nicole Kidman who is quite charming but shy).
The 2-5 min sprint on a Talk Show seems terrifying and stressful -> watch how insane Will Smith and Tom Hanks are when on them. It’s like 5 shots of espresso.
Rosie, just watched about half of that Rosie/Keanu interview and it was great. I forgot how funny she is. But, oh yeah, did she have to work to keep that conversation going, lol. He was adorable but giving one word answers or telling 2 sentence stories.
“I wonder where all those kids from third grade are now.” Brutal.
I think he can be hard to get what you want out of him. I saw this documentary where Mario Testino was saying it was a difficult cover photo shoot for vanity fair with him. They just didn’t connect well so only ended up with half the photos they could use. I think he is open to working with different people but needs a good fit.
Puppy Keanu was such a closed book, an enigma wrapped in a mystery — and I think he was adorkable back then, still is.
Him being averse to PR drills is part of his charm.
He also had those double tragedies ~2001. I wonder if part of his hesitation was not wanting to pick at the wounds.
It’s a great interview. And yeah she had to prompt him a lot but she clearly had planned ahead and brought all those props. Anyway the whole interview is worth it just to hear him use the phrase “king fu science fiction movie.” 😂 Oh that little thing that leveled up Hollywood special effects forever?
Right?! 😆
I think part of the challenge with Keanu is that he didn’t follow improv’s ‘yes and’ rule. He responded with nos to multiple overtures that Rosie put out.
I enjoy it and him but he’s clearly not an uber extrovert which often performs better in those short form interviews.
Rosie was skilled and I think did well with him. His style adds to his charm
I bet she and Keanu are still friendly and this was an affectionate jab. I’ve never been Rosie’s biggest supporter. I think she made a lot of mistakes in her anti-gun agenda (like filming adds for KMart, who was a big retailer of guns). And I didn’t watch her daytime show. But this was a really good interview. She was prepared and ready for him to not be a talkative guest. I bet she and Keanu still laugh about it now and that’s why she made that comment.
As a Long Island introvert, this made me laugh! Everyone talked my damn ear off when I was growing up there.
Watched the interview. He seems so young there (although he’s in his 30s), but he’s obviously tired, bags under his eyes. Makeup team earning their pay! I wonder if he was up all night or if they pulled him out of bed and poured gallons of coffee down his throat. Old enough to remember 90s wild child Keanu, LOL.
I do recommend the Kelce Brothers interview. Who’da thunk it would be some sports guys drawing Keanu out of his shell.
BananaPanda – this was 1997, so before his 2001 losses.
Look, if this is when he was in training for some obscure “kung fu science fiction film,” it makes sense that he was tired. If only that film had been successful. /s
I like Rosie and Keanu, interviews be damned.