Aziz Ansari cast one of his own favorite actors in his directorial debut when Keanu Reeves said yes.
When Ansari, 42, caught up with PEOPLE at the Toronto International Film Festival world premiere of his new movie Good Fortune on Saturday, Sept. 6, the filmmaker and actor said that Reeves, 61, fit in well working with him and fellow costar Seth Rogen on a comedy.
“You know, when you meet him it’s intimidating, because he’s an icon of the screen and I grew up watching him and all his films, so it was pretty mind-blowing to get to meet him and then on top of that then work with him. He’s now a great friend and collaborator,” Ansari says on the red carpet. “I didn’t really know what to expect because he’s pretty mysterious, you know? But he was just so game.”
According to an official synopsis, Good Fortune follows a “well-meaning but rather inept angel named Gabriel,” played by Reeves, who “meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker (Ansari) and a wealthy venture capitalist (Rogen).” The movie made by the Parks and Reacreation alum also costars Keke Palmer and Sandra Oh.
“He was working with me and Seth, and we’re such comedy guys, we’re really comfortable in the way we work,” Ansari says of bringing the generally action-oriented Reeves into a comedy role. “And he really just was game for everything. I told Seth at one point, ‘Imagine if we had to do an action movie, how uncomfortable we’d be. [We’d go], wait, Keanu, what do we do, what do we do?’ “
“He’s such a pro and he was just so down to play with us, and he’s the soul of the movie and he just does a wonderful job,” the director adds.
