The Conversation (0)
Narjas Zatat
Jun 19, 2019
Picture:
Dia Dipasupil/Getty and Change.org
Keanu Reeves has always had a reputation for being the Ultimate Nice Guy in Hollywood. However, thanks to a few viral tweets and a sprinkle of serendipity, his reputation online has reached new heights.
So much so that there’s a petition to name him Time Person of the Year.
The Change.org campaign, titled Make Keanu Reeves 2019 Times Person of the Year, has almost reached its 35,000 mark with 31,443 signatures as of the writing of this article.
The campaign description is short and to the point:
Keanu is the most wholesome person alive, make him the person of the year!
What is the Time Person of the Year award?
The Time Person of the Year is an annual title issued by American magazine Time that features and profiles a person or idea that "for better or for worse… has done the most to influence the events of the year".
In 2018 The Time cover was dedicated to 'The Guardians' – journalists across the world who faced persecution for their reporting, including the deceased Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi and Maria Ressa.
In 2017 it was 'The Silence Breakers', women who spoke out against sexual assault and harassment and figureheads of the #MeToo movement including its creator, Tarana Burke.
So...why Keanu Reeves?
There are countless stories of the actor showing kindness to fans as well as fellow actors, and it seems everyone who has come into contact with Reeves has positive things to say. One fan recently noticed the respect he affords female fans whenever he takes pictures of them.
An interview with Reeves from a few years ago went viral showing the veteran actor bashfully bat away a compliment from a journalist, and he became visibly annoyed when questioned about why he decided to give the Matrix crew part of his claim to a share of the profits.
An executive who spoke with The Wall Street Journal commented, "He felt that they were the ones who made the movie and that they should participate."
In 1997 he cut his pay for The Devil’s Advocate so that the movie had enough money to hire Al Pacino.
The 54-year-old has given anonymously to a whole host of charities, and once gave a Matrix crew member $20,000 after learning he was having financial trouble.
Reeves probably isn’t a perfect person, and such praise makes him uncomfortable, but in an industry infamous for its cutthroat nature, its many faces and its inauthenticity, he seems to have captured hearts for being none of those things.
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