Keanu Reeves says 'death' is on his mind 'all the time'
Keanu Reeves thinks death is nothing to fear ahead of his 60th birthday and hopes recognizing his own mortality gives him more of an appreciation for life.
Keanu Reeves has no fear when it comes to his own mortality.
The "Matrix" actor, who turns 60 in September, admitted it's a good thing to think about the limitless potential of life while he's still around to appreciate it.
"I'm 59, so I'm thinking about death all the time," he told BBC News. He noted his outlook on dying is a good thing.
KEANU REEVES AND GIRLFRIEND ALEXANDRA GRANT MAKE RARE JOINT APPEARNCE AT MOTORCYCLE RACE IN GERMANY
"Hopefully it's not crippling, but hopefully it's sensitized [us] to an appreciation of the breath we have and the relationships that we have the potential to have."
Reeves has worked on a number of action-packed movies through the years but took a step back from the film world to focus on a new passion project of writing his first novel.
"The Book of Elsewhere," written in collaboration with science fiction author China Miéville, follows an immortal warrior with a quest for personal death. Reeves created the book based on his successful BRZRKR comic book series.
The series, pronounced "berserker," will be adapted into a live-action Netflix film also starring Reeves, in addition to an anime show. Fans have noted thematic similarities between the main character and Reeves' personal life.
"I think it was influenced by some of the action films that I had done," Reeves said of a few slightly gruesome scenes. Others wondered if Keanu's words were a way for the actor to escape his own reality.
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"Maybe ultimately the fantasy of building another world brings some kind of comfort in some way," he admitted. "There's something ultimately about the creative gesture that comes from pain.
"Creating stuff is great. Just creating, sharing and hopefully people like the stories that we tell."
While Reeves is sharing more of his creative pursuits with the world, there's one thing he keeps mostly private — his relationship with artist Alexandra Grant.
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The couple recently waved the checkered flag at Germany's MotoGP Liqui Moly Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland but are otherwise relatively quiet about their romance since going public in 2019.
"What I love about Keanu and our exchange is that we're pushing each other to build new roads," she told People. "Seeing the other person's problem-solving is inspiring, like, ‘Oh, well, OK, this one, that's a cul-de-sac. How do I try this other thing?’
"He's such an inspiration to me. He's so creative, he's so kind. He works so hard."