In March 2019, Reeves went viral after his United Airlines flight to Burbank, California was grounded in Bakersfield. Taking initiative in arranging alternate travel plans, Reeves boarded a travel van with the other passengers. Reeves read fun facts from his phone about Bakersfield to the passengers, and later used YouTube to share 1950s American country music that was native to the town.[304] Time said of the events, “One thing’s for certain after this eventful trip: if you’re looking for a road trip buddy, Keanu Reeves should be on the top of your list”.[305]
Reeves again gained media attention in May when his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert went viral. Colbert asked at the end of the show about his views on death, then Reeves answered, “I know that the ones who love us will miss us.” The response incited an emotional reaction from the audience, and Colbert shook Reeves’s hand before wrapping up the show.[306] Vice’s River Donaghey declared that “Keanu is my new religion” in response to the clip, and called the moment “transcendent”.[307] The New Yorker called it “a response so wise, so genuinely thoughtful, that it seemed like a rebuke to the usual canned blather of late-night television”—staff writer Naomi Fry recounted that she “felt like [she] was standing alone in a rock garden, having a koan whispered into [her] ear” after watching the viral clip on Twitter.[308] The interaction would later inspire science communicator Hank Green to end his Pissing Out Cancer comedy special, based on his experiences fighting Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, with a quote inspired by Reeves’s answer; “Either way, what comes next is going to be beautiful”. In choosing the ending, he felt that Reeves’s words reflected a larger understanding of the human experience.[309]
