Must Watch: Keanu Reeves Was an Awkward Teen Reporter on a Kids’ TV Show
If someone asked you to recall Keanu Reeves’ earliest acting gig, you might think of Parenthood or Babes in Toyland. As it turns out, the intensely likable star of John Wick: Chapter 2 started his career a bit earlier than that, and like us non-famous folks, Reeves’ first job wasn’t exactly pleasant; in fact, it was kiiiiiind of awkward, but that just makes this little-seen footage of Reeves as a teenage reporter on a Canadian kids’ show all the more rewarding.
During an appearance on last night’s Tonight Show, Reeves was reminded of his short-lived stint as a reporter on the CBC kids’ news program Going Great. It definitely wasn’t going so great for Reeves, who was fired after the first year (the show ran for one more year before it was canceled). Obviously, Fallon wouldn’t dredge up Reeves’ awkward memories without delivering some delightful video evidence — in this instance, it’s a short clip of Reeves reporting from a teddy bear convention, where he pretends a stuffed bear is mauling him and shouts “You’re not a bear!” It’s a little weird and also kind of adorable.
That brief clip just barely scratches the surface of Reeves’ teenage reporting career, but praise be to GQ for discovering two more videos on YouTube…uploaded by “Keanu Russian Club,” no less. In the first, Reeves visits a 16-year-old girl who runs her own equestrian school. Around the 2:30 mark he asks about her future plans: “Is that what you want to do? I mean, like, when you grow up and you’re a real human being.” A REAL HUMAN BEING! (To be fair, this is also how I refer to being an actual grown-up, and I’m 31 years old. I have a lot in common with teenage Keanu.)
In another segment, Reeves interviews the talented young juggler Claude Beaudoin. Through a voiceover that sounds almost existential, Reeves grapples with this craft. “Just how hard can juggling be?” He might as well be pondering the very essence of life, which later throws him a curveball in the form of a unicycle. This segment could have been directed by Jean-Luc Godard:
From bumbling juggler to vengeful assassin. Keanu Reeves truly is an inspiration to us all.
John Wick: Chapter 2 hits theaters on February 10.