We give a lot of credit, and rightfully so, to Tom Hanks being the nicest guy in Hollywood but maybe a runner-up for that title should be Keanu Reeves. From all accounts, he's as good as they come and now Oscar winner Octavia Spencer is revealing a story about how John Wick himself came to her rescue when no one else would.
Spencer was speaking with Graham Norton on his show to promote her latest film, THE WITCHES, and she recalled a time nearly twenty-five years when Reeves helped her out in a big way:
"It was about 25 years ago, The Matrix had just come out. I was on my way to pick up a script to read for an audition. So I wasn't really wearing any underwear, I was wearing sweats and my favorite college football t-shirt. It was worn, it was see-through, no underwear. And my car hadn't been washed because I always parked underneath the trees, and there was bird crap all over the back of it. And it broke down in this posh area of Beverly Hills, and there was a cafe and all of these people are sitting out there and the cars were honking. Nobody would help me. All of a sudden, this guy comes up with his sunglasses and motorcycle helmet, and I knew immediately it was Keanu Reeves. And I, of course, was freaking out. He, you know, 'You need some help?' And I'm like, 'Sure.' So I thought he was going to get into the car, I got behind the car to push. He said, 'No, I'm going to push you out of the street, you get in.' So he pushed me out of the street, and then of course, when people saw it was Keanu Reeves helping me, everybody came down to help."
The act of kindness really stuck with Spencer because ever since that day, she has made it a point to never miss one of his films. At the time of this chance encounter, Keanu Reeves was one of the biggest stars working in the industry while Spencer was only in a handful of small TV appearances on shows like E.R. and The X-Files. Of course, in the years since, Spencer's star has ascended to great heights with a Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for THE HELP and another Best Supporting Oscar nomination for HIDDEN FIGURES. At this point, their clout is big enough to star in a film together so let's make this reunion happen.
Reeves' acts of kindness really isn't an industry secret. During the making of THE MATRIX RELOADED, the actor was so impressed by the work ethic of the 12 stuntmen who filmed the "Neo vs. 100 Agent Smiths" scene with him that he gifted each stuntman a Harley Davidson. This was the very reason that Chad Stahelski, who was a stuntman for THE MATRIX movies, cast the actor in JOHN WICK. Stahelski was just really impressed with how Reeves got along with the cast and crew on those films. These are the kind of Hollywood stories I like to hear. They say never meet your idols because they may not live up to expectations but from what I can see, Keanu Reeves is one that would not disappoint.