Stars, they’re just like us: Sometimes they ask a famous person for an autograph.
“The Matrix Resurrections” star Keanu Reeves revealed in a new interview with Stephen Colbert that he once asked Syracuse University alumnus Lou Reed for his signature. And the rock legend said yes.
“But it wasn’t for me,” Reeves admitted. “It was for a friend. And (Reed) was cool about it.”
“It was a little piece of paper with blue ink. It was good. It just said ‘Lou Reed,’” he added with a smile.
“It would have been really disappointing if it didn’t say Lou Reed,” Colbert joked.
Reeves laughed as he explained that he was just surprised Reed didn’t write anything more, such as “All the best” or “Happy holidays.” He added that he once asked “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” co-star George Carlin for an autograph, and the late comedian wrote “Dear Keanu, f--- you.”
The topic was part of“The Late Show” host’s “Colbert Questionert” segment, where celebrities answer a series of personal questions that have little to do with their careers. Reeves also revealed his favorite sandwich (crunchy peanut butter with honey), his favorite action movie (James Caan’s “Rollerball”), and the song he would listen to for the rest of his life (Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”).
Reeves, whose acting credits include “Speed,” “Point Break,” “John Wick,” and “The Replacements,” didn’t say when he met Reed or when he asked for the autograph.
Reed, who graduated from Syracuse University in 1964, is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who died in 2013. While a student, he wrote songs and poetry, plus hosted his own late-night radio show on WAER called “Excursions on a Wobbly Rail.”
Reed’s time at Syracuse led to the Velvet Underground, a hugely influential rock band that included guitarist Sterling Morrison, a classmate at SU, and drummer Maureen “Moe” Tucker, the younger sister of Morrison’s friend from Syracuse. Reed maintained his connections to Syracuse University years later, founding the Lou Reed/Delmore Schwartz scholarship for creative writing students in 2007 and sharing the VU song “Head Held High” in a a video ad for the university highlighting prominent alumni.
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