Keanu Reeves, reluctant role model?

Keanu Reeves was in this month's cover of GQ.

In an interview in Essence magazine, Keanu Reeves, star of the just released John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, self-identifes as a person of color.

Unlike many actors Reeves' personal life isn't splashed all over the gossip pages of various media. He doesn't shout from the rooftops that his bloodline, which includes Native Hawaiian  and Chinese ancestors, much to the disappointment of some of his fans who seek role models of similar racial heritages.

Even with a 30 year career in Hollywood playing a wide range of characters, Reeves remains a mystery.

Reeves told Essence that he "not a spokesperson" for Asian actors in the Hollywood community but he cares about "representation" in the entertainment industry.

“I hope that whatever opportunities I’ve had, or the work that I’m doing, in some way can entertain and can also—I don’t want to say teach—but have something of value come out of it,” he added.

Because of his reticence about his racial background, Reeves' announcement is noteworthy considering that most of his roles -- from the stoner in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure to the mindbending Neo in The Matrix trilogy -- are automatically assumed to be white characters. Now rethink those roles -- including Johnny Utah in Point Break and John Wick -- as a person of color and suddenly all those iconic characters become vastly more interesting.

Could Reeves be playing an Asian American in the Netflix romcom Always Be My Maybe? Maybe. The movie, which debuts on the streaming service on May 31,  also stars Aly Wong, Randall Park and Daniel Dae Kim.

With his Essence announcement, Reeves could very well be facing his most challenging role yet -- that as a role model.

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