“I am working on a project called The Matrix.”

Leave it to the charmingly shy, unassuming Keanu Reeves to phrase that he is filming an instalment to one of the world’s highest grossing movie franchises as if it was an obscure film.

“I am in Berlin,” he confirmed in our video call. Keanu is back at work as Neo on The Matrix 4, which started filming in San Francisco in February then moved to Germany.

After a pause due to the coronavirus pandemic, Keanu and director Lana Wachowski have resumed shooting the latest entry in the popular action/sci-fi franchise. The production, working on a script written by Lana, Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell, is reported to be implementing strict protocols to keep the cast and crew safe.

In another interview, Keanu was quoted as saying about the COVID-19 safety measures on the set: “There are some really thoughtful, effective protocols in place, and the rhythm of filmmaking has not really been impacted or interrupted.”

“It’s been very exciting,” said the actor, genial but known for being a man of few words. He wore his trademark black ensemble with his usual long locks and facial hair. “It’s been great to be here in Berlin.  I do miss riding a motorcycle (in Los Angeles), but hopefully, I can do that in the future.”

“I have just been working, so I don’t get out much,” clarified the Lebanon native.

Seventeen years after the third instalment, The Matrix Revolutions, Keanu is reunited with Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity), Jada Pinkett Smith (Niobe) and Lambert Wilson (Merovingian). Also cast in the film, whose plot is under wraps, are Jonathan Groff, Priyanka Chopra, and Neil Patrick Harris.

“I’m filming at the very famous Babelsberg Studio where the director Lana Wachowski has worked often,” Keanu added. “The people there have been great. The German film crews and support all through the different departments have been fantastic. And it’s been great to be in Berlin. It’s a wonderful city. I consider myself grateful and lucky to be here.”

“Neo is older, as am I,” Keanu can only say about his iconic character, aka as The One and Thomas Anderson, in the fourth installment.

Having just turned 56 last September 2, Keanu looks youthful, thanks to his Eurasian genes. Keanu’s dad, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., is of Chinese-Hawaiian-European heritage while his mom Patricia Taylor is English. The couple met while working in Beirut, where Keanu was born.

Keanu is also reunited with Alex Winter in another franchise installment, Bill & Ted Face the Music. “Oh, we were young and now, we’re older,” Keanu said with a laugh about being back with his co-star, Alex, in the third iteration of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, one of the hits that catapulted him to stardom.

On having two reunions with his popular characters this year, Keanu said, “I’m very grateful and lucky to be having two really good reunions.”

Next year, he will reportedly reprise one more beloved character from his screen vault, John Wick, in fourth and fifth entries that are rumored to be shot back to back. The last installment, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which memorably starred Filipino-American actor Mark Dacascos as Zero, earned more than $300 million domestically and worldwide.

“We have a lot more and different life experiences. Bounty and loss – so that’s changed,” the actor replied about his and Alex’s evolution over the years.

Of their dim bulb, blissed out characters from San Dimas, California, Keanu grinned as he said, “We think with their indomitable spirit and will, Bill and Ted will try and figure it out and keep going.”

As the film credits roll, moviegoers get an idea of how Keanu will look like as an old geezer when he and Alex play elderly versions of Bill and Ted having a jam in their retirement home.

“To have such great makeup and have it so realistic, you could look in the mirror and say, yeah, that might be how it’s going to go,” Keanu conceded with a chuckle. “I don’t want to give too much away, but definitely, yes.  We worked with wonderful special effects and makeup, Kevin Yagher and Bill Corso. These are real titans in the industry.”

Asked if this was Bill’s last adventure, Keanu answered, “I don’t know.  I don’t want to talk about it as a farewell.  We had a lot of fun playing, though.  It was great.”

Keanu was fun to watch in his cameo as a foodie snob in Ali Wong ang Randall Park’s groundbreaking Asian-American rom-com, Always Be My Baby. If you ever doubted Keanu’s acting chops, watch him serve “glorious douchebaggery” (as one film critic raved) in this one scene.

Keanu plays a dad in Bill & Ted Face the Music. Is it never too late to expect little Keanus running around? The actor, who has been in a relationship with his book collaborator, visual artist Alexandra Grant, for several years, typically answered the personal question by being indirect.

“Yeah, I remember working with Anthony Quinn on a film called A Walk in the Clouds. I think he was 78 at the time and he just had a newborn.”