Keanu Reeves’s lovely airport interaction with a young fan went viral

Celebrities came out for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Silverstone over the weekend. Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise (who is a Lewis Hamilton super-fan), Michael Douglas and Gordon Ramsey were all on site. I kept seeing tweets about how Keanu Reeves was so low-key and nice to everyone there. Obviously, Keanu is a big gearhead and he loves cars and motorcycles. He was welcomed completely at F1, and apparently he’s making a docuseries about the 2009 Grand Prix.

Keanu Reeves, 57, took in the excitement during a rainy day at Saturday’s British Grand Prix qualifying race at Silverstone Circuit in England as he prepares to film his new Formula 1 documentary series.

“It was wet but it was thrilling,” he told Sky Sports. “It was absolutely amazing to be that close. Silverstone and rain, perfect. I think being that close to it, just seeing the speed and the way that they’re going at the turns and exiting the turns is something unbelievable. We are being hosted by Ross Brawn, he has been a legend and is such an amazing person so it was really cool to meet him and spend some time with him, he offered us the chance to be here. That’s what we are going to try and do, we are going to tell that amazing, remarkable story,” Reeves added.

He’s currently working on a docuseries about the 2009 Formula 1 season, which was the first to use the Brawn racing car after Honda retired from F1 the year before. The series will feature interviews with Ross Brawn, Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello and other important F1 figures from that era.

“From the outside a friend of mine was telling this story and I was so struck by it. We were like ‘Well let’s tell that story’ and it has been really great to be able to learn more from what was going on in F1 back in the day, there was just so much happening in F1,” Reeves explained. “Just the world of F1 was extraordinary, it always is but that year with Brawn I think something special happened.”

[From People]

That’s really cool. Keanu just shows up in different parts of the world and charms everyone with his niceness and humility. Speaking of, as he was returning to the US after his outing at Silverstone, a young boy stopped him at the airport and peppered him with questions. The tweets from an eyewitness went viral. This is so sweet and kind, it made me choke up a little.

Photo courtesy of Backgrid.

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35 Responses to “Keanu Reeves’s lovely airport interaction with a young fan went viral”

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  1. C says:

    I normally cringe when people use the following phrase but it completely applies to Keanu: we must protect this man at all costs!!

    • Fuzzy Crocodile says:

      He just embodies that kindness is so
      Important to the fabric of this world … and that it takes very little extra effort to be kind.

      • I’ve met him and truly he is the loveliest. Just gives off such zen, calm vibes and yes, he’s GREAT with children. So sad he never had any. Truly a wonderful person. We are lucky to have him. And man, do I have a crush, lol.

      • Wiglet Watcher says:

        I met him on a sidewalk in CT and we bumped arms into each other. He turned around to apologize. I nearly cried. I cannot tell anyone how genuine this man feels In Any interaction.
        My bf at the time met him at a motorcycle gathering and said the same.

        I will only speak glowingly of him.
        With exception to the movie Knock Knock. He didn’t fit the character. Poor casting having such a sweet man play anyone that could do wrong.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Wiglet Watcher, he seems to like playing those types of characters sometimes. Neon Demon, The Gift, The Watcher, Siberia, Man of Tai Chi, those were awful humans.

    • molly says:

      I met him at Cafe Babareeba in Chicago in 1990. We sent the waitress over to buy him a drink and he said he would come over and have it with us and sat with us for 45 minutes. Even more gorgeous in real life and so incredibly nice. A core memory for me– such a great night my best friend and I just graduated in December from U of I and were celebrating!

  2. Eloisa says:

    He is the best!

  3. Barbiem says:

    Warms my heart because I really like Keanu. His acting gets crapped on but actually love it myself! Please never turn out to have secret monster behavior. Stay sweet!

    • Michael says:

      His acting is not great but he is so likable that nobody cares. I do wish people would leave him alone more though. Just because he is nice does not mean he needs to be peppered with questions off a long flight. I udedrstand it was a kid but that kid has parents who should have reigned him in a bit

      • Concern Fae says:

        It really is a shame where people mistake range for talent. Can Keanu play every role? Nope. Can Keanu play the roles Keanu was born to play to perfection? Absolutely.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        I love all of the Keanu movies!! I don’t think he has made one flop, but that’s my personal opinion. He made a small movie, A Walk In The Clouds, with the great Anthony Quinn and I thought it was such a lovely movie, even though it had terrible Rotten Tomato score.

        I have heard numerous rumors throughout the years as to how lovely he is. I think that Keanu is a National Treasure that we should respect and give kudos for being such a humble and compassionate man.

  4. girl_ninja says:

    He is just so lovely. What a sweet man.

  5. Peanut Butter says:

    Keanu Reeves is so easy to love 💛

  6. rawiya says:

    I’m cynical, so this interaction coming at a time when he was getting a little bit of flak seems timely. He’s decided to shill NFTs, even after saying they were dumb last year, even now that they’re tanking. Keanu: just like the rest of the money-hungry celebs. I’m disappointed, and actually surprised. But that’s nice that he spoke to the kid or whatever.

    • C says:

      I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. It looks like he got involved because his partner Alexandra Grant is an advisor to the “Futureverse Foundation”, which appears to be something like disseminating funding to artists both doing physical exhibitions and NFTs. I’m reading their first grant was 100,000 euros to Ghanaian art historian Nana Oforiatta Ayim for an in-person exhibition. In any case it doesn’t look like it’s for profit.

    • notasugarhere says:

      AG and her shenanigans, well, not a good look for anyone to be associated with her.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        Why is AG one that should be associated with? I must have missed this story….

        NFT’s are crap! It’s an obvious scam to fool rich people. Just because you have oodles of money doesn’t make you smart.

    • CherHorowitz says:

      Agreed. Honestly the incessant fawning over this man is the epitome of ‘the bar for men is so low its a tavern in Hades’ but sure, he seems like a nice person.

    • N says:

      Yeah. I think he was or still is in the camp of Brad Pitt. Pitt is now blacklisted by Hollywood (he and another star are fighting to the death). He tried to help Pitt, but got found out by the star, hence the sudden NFT leak about him. This is a warning to him. Hope he gets the message, cause Pitt is evil. When all Hollywood studios shut the door at your face, it tells something about you.

  7. SuzieQ says:

    If you haven’t seen it already, watch Ali Wong’s movie “Always Be My Maybe.” It’s a small role, but he’s hilarious in it.

  8. Emme says:

    This man can do no wrong. Utterly, utterly love him to bits. Cynics and doubters take yourselves elsewhere.

  9. Mimi says:

    Ugh I love him so much! A true gentleman!

  10. molly says:

    I’m glad he wasn’t a dick to the kid, but interactions like this make me so uncomfortable. What if he didn’t want to chat with this nosy stranger? Then what? He goes viral in a bad way?

    Keanu owes the general public absolutely nothing. Not small talk, not photos, not a single second of his non-working time. He’s not an elected official or paid by taxpayers where he works “for the people.” Just because he’s chosen to be an actor doesn’t mean he’s obligated to engage in conversations anyplace at anytime with anyone. Leave him alone.

    • Dara says:

      There are gracious ways to not give too much away – he doesn’t have to make a binary choice of too nice and dickhead. If he hadn’t wanted to share, he wouldn’t have. Besides, have you never humored an overly curious child? I am by no means famous, but have had extended conversations with kids in airports. I answer the simple questions, and if/when they get too personal I make sh*t up. I’ve been a spy, an elephant trainer and a professional surfer. I am none of those things, but the kids are fascinated, I amuse myself, and the parents are glad they aren’t the ones having to answer all the questions for a change.

      • SIde Eye says:

        I love this Dara! I’ve done this myself. Once a mom approached me in a grocery store and whispered, look, I know how to tell Black people apart and I know you aren’t her, but my 7 year old is convinced you are Halle Berry. (We don’t really look alike but maybe I could pass for her chunky cousin when my hair is short). Her kid approaches completely star struck. And I answered questions about winning an Oscar, what it’s like to play a superhero in X Men (a film I have never seen). And I even put on sunglasses and took a pic with the kid in the store. When we got to the car my own kid (6 years old at the time) asked: Who’s Holly Berry? Are you her? And I had a funny story to tell my friends about that time I was a total imposter at the grocery store.

        I’m especially engaging of kids in airports. Their parents are exhausted and if there are younger siblings, dealing with pack and plays and strollers/carseats at security. Now that mine is a teen I am relieved to not have to deal with this, so I am usually having a good day by comparison. I think in this case the bystander only started recording because Keanu was being so lovely to a complete stranger. I like to think if he had just acted like a regular tired traveler who is not in really in the mood to chat, the bystander would not have recorded it. But maybe I’m deluding myself.

  11. tamsin says:

    What a lovely story. Never thought much of Keanu’s acting, but his actions show he is a kind and decent person, and respectful of others.

  12. MangoAngelesque says:

    Oh, I just adore that man. His acting is meh (when he isn’t John Wick), but I’ll still watch everything he does JUST to support him for being an amazing human.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      I loved the first John Wick but all sequels lose something to me. I can’t think of a bad movie he has been in. The Matrix is phenomenal as was Point Break and Constantine!! Constantine is one of my top 10 movies!

    • The Recluse says:

      He was funny in Love You To Death, where he was partnered in his scenes with William Hurt.

    • The Recluse says:

      Keanu Reeves – International Treasure

  13. Serena says:

    Man, I just love Keanu.

  14. SIde Eye says:

    Love love love him!!! I would literally take my earrings off and throw down if I saw anyone being mean to my (pretend) boyfriend. I think patience and a genuine connection with children is not something you can fake. A lot of people pretend to be interested in kids but they just end up talking down to them. Keanu has that love for them. Prince Harry also has it. So does President Obama. Keanu is lovely. He is loveliness personified. Thank you CB for making my day with this post.

  15. AppleCart says:

    I think I cried over how beautiful he was in My own Private Idaho. He’s had a lot of tragedy in his life. But yet is so lovely and positive. And shares his success with his crews.

    What a sweet man to entertain a kid at the airport. Which is never a fun time beig tired and just want to get to your next destination.