Keanu Reeves. Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage

The actor, 60, was heard in the first episode of season 2 of the Apple TV+ thriller as the voice of a building in an animated “Lumon is Listening” video shown to the Macrodata Refinement department. And although it was easy to miss, series creator Dan Erickson recently explained in an interview with Collider why Reeves was cast.

“All I can say is that we talked about a couple of different people for that role,” Erickson said. “We always wanted it to be somebody that people have certain associations with, but also, it had to be a very warm presence. The Lumon building is very friendly in the context of this video, and there’s a friendliness to that particular voice and a heart to that particular voice.”

In addition to Reeves’ cameo and stars Adam Scott, Britt Lower, Zach Cherry and John Turturro, viewers will see eight new cast members in season 2 of Severance, Deadline reported in October 2022. The lineup includes English actress Gwendoline Christie, best known for Game of Thrones and Wednesday, and Merritt Wever of Nurse Jackie and Godless.

Actor and writer Bob Balaban (Waiting for Guffman, The French Dispatch), Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Search Party), Robby Benson (Ice Castles, Beauty and the Beast), Stefano Carannante (Mirabilia), Ólafur Darri Ólafsson (The Tourist, Trapped) and John Noble (Fringe, Elementary) will also appear.

Reeves’ Severance gig came shortly after Reeves made his voice-acting debut as Shadow in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. He told PEOPLE at the premiere in December that he enjoyed playing a part with intensity.

“Shadow is such an intense character, and I like that he was intense, but he’s got a good heart, and so I got to play super intense,” he noted. “I want revenge, but then also kind of be sensitive and trying to show the good side of me.”

Keanu Reeves.Jamie McCarthy/Getty

In the past, Reeves was best known for his on-camera roles in The Matrix and John Wick, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of its first movie release last year. When co-director Chad Stahelski was asked in October 2024 if the film could have existed without Reeves, he quickly told PEOPLE “no.”

“The stoicism that John Wick shows is really a big part of who Keanu is,” Stahelski continued. “You gotta see Keanu on set. I know everyone hears the stories, but he is always there early. He is always the first one there [and] the last one to leave.”

He went on to share that Reeves, who executive produced the fourth movie in 2023, is “curious” about every part of the production process and “does not try to overproduce or overbear or course-correct. He just wants to know.”

“[He] loves the property, loves the character, loves the work,” he added. “That kind of involvement – that kind of love – you can’t help but insert your own DNA.”