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Rosie O’Donnell’s 90s talk show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show was huge and it spurred so many different cultural moments. From her “Kids Say the Darndest Things” to the wild Tom Cruise love, Rosie walked so Ellen DeGeneres could fly. Although she’s long since retired from acting and hosting life, Rosie, who moved to Ireland earlier this year, appeared on an Australian talk show, Sam Pang Tonight, to reminisce about her talk show. Barbra Streisand was her favorite guest, Martin Short was her best guest, and Keanu Reeves was her worst guest. If you’re worried that Keanu was a d-ck to interview in the 1990s, don’t worry! According to Rosie, he was nice but not an easy interview for an extrovert like herself.
Rosie O’Donnell this week described Keanu Reeves as one of the “worst” guests on her hit talk show back in the day.
Yes, that Keanu Reeves, the “John Wick” and “Matrix” star who’s been dubbed the Internet’s Boyfriend for his good-guy-ness and humility. O’Donnell explained Reeves’ 1997 appearance on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” to Australian talk show host Sam Pang after naming her favorite guest, Barbra Streisand, and best guest, Martin Short.
“One of the worst, who, I love the guy, but he’s not good on talk shows: Keanu Reeves,” O’Donnell revealed Monday to a surprised audience on “Sam Pang Tonight.”
“He’s so sweet, he looks gorgeous, I love all his movies, but he would not answer a question,” she continued. “I’d say, ‘So, Keanu, how’s it going? How are you feeling?’ ‘Good.’ … We were live. We couldn’t retape. I finally said after like three minutes, ‘You know, Keanu, it is a talk show. You have to talk.’”
“But he did come back, and he got the hang of it,” she said. “But he’s a lovely man and a good-hearted guy, so I don’t wanna throw him under the bus.” (A joke, perhaps, about Reeves’ 1994 actioner “Speed,” which involved a bomb-rigged bus?)
“I could have said Tom Selleck, which would have been easier to do,” she said, referring to her famous clash with the actor over gun reform and the NRA after the Columbine massacre in 1999.
I want to shout, ”LEAVE KEANU ALONE!”, but I also think that Rosie has a real, harmless point here. Part of Keanu’s charm is that he’s not a man of many words. He says what he means and he means what he says. Sure, maybe a PR guru could have helped him channel his dry sense of humor at some point, but we love Keanu for the pointed, charming introvert that he is.
Rosie O’D, like me, is from Long Island. We love to talk. We love when people talk to us. I can understand why Rosie would be frustrated that someone as badass as Keanu wasn’t matching her energy. It just wasn’t his style! That’s what we all love about Keanu, right? He marches to the beat of his own drum. He’s polite and happy to answer questions and meet an interviewer where they are, but he’s still going to hold his cards close to his chest. Having watched my fair share of interviews with him lately, I think he took feedback because he has improved over time. He’s never going to be the most open guest, but he’s gotten better at answer questions and giving us soundbites.
Here’s Rosie’s interview with Keanu: