Certified nicest-guy-in-entertainment Keanu Reeves turns, somewhat unbelievably, 56 years old today. From limboing under literal bullets to maintaining an undying devotion to his late puppy, Reeves has enthralled audiences all over the world for the last three decades. And now, he’s about to do it all over again in Cyberpunk 2077.
For those unacquainted with CD Projekt Red’s upcoming blockbuster, Reeves is set to inhabit the perennially rebellious persona of Johnny Silverhand. Saying that he’s going to nail it isn’t a particularly controversial statement - from the caliber of his past performances alone, it’s pretty safe to surmise that he’s going to put on a solid show.
But there are concrete reasons to believe that Keanu Reeves is the perfect man to play Johnny Silverhand, infallible connections that link the two to one another. From high-horsepower motorcycles to unique affiliations with David Bowie, the lives and experiences of these two people are far more intertwined than you might think.
Let’s start with a brief description of Johnny Silverhand. First of all, that’s not his real name - in actuality, Silverhand was born Robert John Under. An ex-US military veteran, Under decided to desert the battlefield of a war he didn’t believe in, and later became the lead singer of punk band Samurai in order to incite rebellion against the cruelty of megacorporations in the dive bars of Night City.
Keanu Reeves is not a military veteran. He’d been acting for two whole years before he was old enough to join the US Army - on top of that, he’s Canadian anyway.
That being said, Reeves picked up some serious skills while training for John Wick 2. If you somehow haven’t seen the video below, check it out.
So yeah, both Keanu Reeves and Johnny Silverhand are pretty much military-trained, even if the former never technically wore the uniform. It doesn’t stop there though - I mentioned earlier that Johnny Silverhand joined Samurai after ditching the army. He founded the rockerboy movement in Night City, which was an anti-establishment punk circuit designed to turn the masses on their nefarious corporocratic overlords.
As it turns out, Reeves was in a punk band too, having played bass guitar in a group called Dogstar. He didn’t necessarily attempt to incite rage against the government, but he continued to play at small venues for several years even after he became synonymous with Neo from The Matrix. It’s worth noting that in Silverhand’s case, he became a working class hero, an icon people could look to in times of strife. He became totally beloved - and, in the real world, who is more universally liked than Mr. “You’re breathtaking” Keanu Reeves?
To build on the whole punk aesthetic, what’s more punk than a massive Gixxer? Speaking with GQ, Chad Stahelski - who was Keanu Reeves’ stunt double prior to directing the John Wick trilogy - offered some intriguing insight into Reeves’ many talents, including flying around on motorbikes.
“I’m a big Sergio Leone fan, so no matter what, I was putting Keanu on a horse in this movie," Stahelski said. “If you’ve got an actor who can ride horses, ride motorcycles, do fight scenes, why not?
“I made a list of every skill Keanu has - we sat down and I said, ‘Give me everything you can do really well.’ And we put all that in the movies. Drive a car, check the box. Ride a horse, check the box. Nobody wanted the horses. I had to fight for that one. People thought it was too weird.”
I don’t think it’s weird at all. Keanu Reeves can do everything. I am not 100% sure that Johhny Silverhand can ride a horse, though.
I feel it’s probably worth mentioning that Reeves is similarly aware of the corporate bullsh*t that Silverhand detests, albeit it in a significantly quieter way. Instead of howling lyrical protests to intimate crowds in packed-out basements, he’s heavily invested in philanthropy and has been known to give a huge amount of his Hollywood earnings to those in need. It’s not the same kind of rebellion, sure, but it’s certainly incomparable to the way other members of the 1% live.
On top of everything, this won’t be Reeves’ first rodeo playing this kind of character. Back in 1995 he played the title role in Johnny Mnemonic, a film set in a dystopian future starring a man with cybernetically-enhanced head implants. Sound familiar?
Unfortunately, the film was absolutely blasted by critics and Reeves won the Razzie Award for Worst Actor. So I reckon it’s high time he got another chance at playing cybernetically-enhanced futuristic guy, especially given his performance as Neo just four years after being hit with a Razzie win - the only acting win that literally nobody wants.
Also, John Wick! In Cyberpunk 2077, Johnny Silverhand wants to rip the Arasaka Corporation to shreds because they killed his girlfriend. Technically her mind is still alive, having become immortal as part of the company’s mainframe, but she no longer has a physical body - and it’s widely believed that Silverhand doesn’t have one, either, which is why the streets of Night City are lined with graffiti reading, “Where’s Johnny?”
John Wick is driven by revenge, too, given that the people who nicked his fancy car also killed his puppy. Both characters are totally motivated by a desire for righteous retribution, to the extent that Johnny Silverhand - sharing a literal face with John Wick - should probably kick off Cyberpunk 2077’s main quest by saying, “Yeah, I’m thinking that I’m back.”
As a means of concluding this slightly lengthy discussion of why Keanu Reeves is downright perfect for the role of Johnny Silverhand, I’m going to play my trump card: David Bowie.
One fateful night, around the time he was still playing bass guitar for Dogstar, Reeves and the band got a call from their manager. Apparently, David Bowie had heard them perform and wanted them to open for him in Los Angeles. And so, Dogstar went out and played punk tunes in front of 5,000 people to warm the crowd up before Ziggy Stardust came on stage.
How does this relate to Johnny Silverhand, you ask? Well, as it turns out, Mike Pondsmith originally based Silverhand on David Bowie in Labyrinth. And now Keanu Reeves - one of many people who played alongside the Thin White Duke in his prime - is set to perform as a character inspired by him. The intriguing thing is that it’s a character who is also similar to some of Reeves’ most iconic roles, meaning that it’s pretty much the best of both worlds.
David Bowie’s mate playing a character inspired by David Bowie - some might even say it’s breathtaking.
Read next: Every Version Of Keanu Reeves In Video Games, Ranked
