He also turns heads everywhere he goes and his kindness apparently knows no limits. When fans invite him to events tongue-in-cheek, Keanu has been known to attend and completely change the vibe of weddings.
Yet, the actor doesn’t understand one thing about his fame. He is stumped as to why his mundane actions, like eating a sandwich, become instant memes, like his unforgettable “Sad Keanu” meme has.
Keanu Reeves Doesn’t Understand Why The “Sad Keanu” Meme Was Hyped
In December 2021, Keanu sat down with Stephen Colbert to discuss the release of The Matrix Resurrections and other projects he had in progress. Their conversation covered a lot of topics, including the famous “Sad Keanu” meme that made the rounds online.
During the conversation, it became clear that Keanu Reeves is quite bemused by the meme and doesn’t understand how a simple image of him eating a sandwich went viral and why everyone assumed he was sad.
Stephen Colbert showed the picture of Keanu looking dejected while eating a sandwich on a park bench that all fans have seen at least once.
“We’re all familiar with this image. We’re all familiar with ‘Sad Keanu’,” he said.
When asked about a famous actress he smooched, Keanu Reeves was not about to spill the beans about their kiss.
“I’m just eating a sandwich, man!” Keanu protested, laughing. “Man, I’m eating a sandwich!” he repeated, as if insisting that’s all he was doing may somehow delete the meme from the minds of his fans.
“So you’re not actually sad in ‘Sad Keanu’?” Stephen asks, looking to clarify once and for all whether “Sad Keanu” has any base in reality.
“I was thinking. I had some stuff going on,” Keanu said.
Then he clarified that the “stuff” he had going on was the fact that he was hungry, before changing the subject.
The “Sad Keanu” Meme Was Actually Used For A BRZRKR Frame
In the same conversation with Stephen Colbert, the subject of Keanu’s new comic book, BRZRKR, came up. Stephen announced to the audience that Keanu had added a new credit to his name.
“You have recently added a new credit to your name. You are now a comic book creator. Tell me about BRZRKR,” Stephen said.
Keanu explained what the comic book was about.
“This comic book, you’re holding volume one, which is the first four issues of the first arc of a twelve-issue series called BRZRKR,” Keanu explained.
Keanu Reeves agreed to work for a fraction of his worth in a box office flop, and his reasoning makes complete sense.
“It’s about a character who was born 80,000 years ago who’s half human and half a god and who’s kind of cursed with the compulsion to violence,” he continued.
Stephen intervened, saying that there was a very interesting frame in this comic, which was also based on the “Sad Keanu” meme.
“There is a very interesting frame here, which everyone is saying is a reference to you,” Stephen tells Keanu, who seems to be aware of the frame.
He then proceeded to show the frame alongside the “Sad Keanu” meme.
Keanu accepted that there was a clear similarity between the meme and the frame. He then explained that the comic book’s illustrator did that without any input from Keanu.
“I didn’t know he was going to do that. But he did, and I think it’s kind of meta,” Keanu said. “The artist took that meme, whatever it is, that photo, and put it in the comic book,” Keanu concluded.
Shrugging, Keanu said it’s about life and art, and left it at that.
Keanu Has No Clue Why He’s So “Meme-Able”
Trying to get to the bottom of why Keanu is the object of so many memes, Stephen Colbert then asked him why he thinks he is so “meme-able.”
Keanu retorted that he was clueless about why fans seem to find humor in everything he does.
“I want to ask you, speaking of life and art or your life represented in art, why do you think you’re so meme-able?” Stephen asked. “There are so many Keanu Reeves memes out there,” he continued.
Keanu Reeves took drastic measures to protect his girlfriend from a relentless stalker who’d been harassing him for months.
Keanu was stumped by the question.
“I have no clue, sir,” he replied.
Stephen was surprised.
“You have such a distinct character of your own, and yet people kind of lay on you meme-ing,” he said.
Stephen’s words prompted Keanu to break into song to the tune of “Lean on me.”
“Meme on me when you’re not strong, and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on,” the star belted out, in a moment that may yet be the birth of yet another Keanu meme.
It seems that Keanu Reeves is still coming to grips with his stardom and status as Hollywood royalty. It’s no wonder, however, because Keanu likes to fly under the radar. Keanu proved this literally when he took a flight without security despite his massive fame — but that doesn’t mean he can escape becoming a meme multiple times over.
