Aziz Ansari’s directorial debut, Good Fortune, brought one of his personal favourite stars on board when Keanu Reeves agreed to join the cast.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 6, where Ansari, 42, shared how surreal it was to work alongside the Hollywood icon.
“You know, when you meet him it’s intimidating, because he’s an icon of the screen and I grew up watching him and all his films, so it was pretty mind-blowing to get to meet him and then on top of that then work with him. He’s now a great friend and collaborator,” Ansari said on the red carpet.
He admitted Reeves’ “mysterious” reputation made him unsure of what to expect, but added, “he was just so game.”
Reeves, 61, plays Gabriel, a “well-meaning but rather inept angel” who meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker (played by Ansari) and a wealthy venture capitalist (played by Seth Rogen).
The comedy also features Keke Palmer and Sandra Oh.
Ansari explained that while he and Rogen were in their element with comedy, bringing Reeves into the mix felt like a risk given his action-heavy background.
“And he really just was game for everything. I told Seth at one point, ‘Imagine if we had to do an action movie, how uncomfortable we’d be. [We’d go], wait, Keanu, what do we do, what do we do?’” Ansari said with a laugh.
He praised Reeves as “the soul of the movie” who does a “wonderful job.”
The role is something new for Reeves, who is best known for franchises like The Matrix and John Wick. But the actor revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that filming Good Fortune nearly came to a halt after a serious on-set injury.
“My knee went. I snapped my kneecap vertically, like a potato chip. As the pain was coming up, I was like, ‘Oh f***. This is not good. This is quite bad.’ There was a lot of blood,” Reeves recalled.
Despite the injury, he remained committed to completing the project.
Reeves said the movie dives deeper than just laughs.
“There are sociological, cultural, wage-disparity and status questions being investigated in the film with a really delicate hand — but a hand,” he explained.
“I think that’s what makes it a work of art.”
Good Fortune is set to hit theaters on Oct. 17, while the Toronto International Film Festival continues through Sept. 14.
