For Aziz Ansari, it was a no-brainer for Keanu Reeves to play the guardian angel in his new film, Good Fortune.
“He has a reputation of being such a sweet, kind of almost angelic figure and he also has this wisdom. If someone told you, ‘Hey, you know Keanu’s like 3,000 years old,’ you’d be like, ‘That kind of tracks,’ He has this depth to him,” Ansari told The Hollywood Reporter at the New York City premiere earlier this week. “He’s also so funny in this film. I looked at some of his older work, stuff he did in Bill & Ted and Parenthood, and took little pieces of that and constructed this character and he just knocks it out of the park.”
In the movie, Reeves’ guardian angel, Gabriel, has struggling worker Arj (Ansari) and rich venture capitalist, Jeff (Seth Rogen), swap lives for a week to help them better appreciate the good fortune they already have.
For Reeves, the feeling of playing the character was mutual with Ansari. “I love comedy and it was a wonderful script,” Reeves told THR.
The film also marks Ansari’s directorial debut and, like Gabriel, he said “so many of my director friends” have been guardian angels to him in his career. “Spike Jones recommended Carter Burwell for me to use this, and he was such a kind guy. Steven Soderbergh watched an early cut of the film and gave me some very positive feedback that really brightened my heart after working on the movie so much,” he said. “When you’re in this business of directing and writing, you look to your heroes. All of them have been so nice to me, so I feel like I owe them a shout-out.”
Sandra Oh, who plays Reeves’ boss, angel Martha, said it was a “joy” and “very easy” to support Ansari in his first directorial effort.
While Good Fortune was the first time Reeves and Oh collaborated with Ansari, it was the fourth time for Rogen. They previously worked together in films such as Funny People, Observe and Report and This Is the End. But outside of their professional work, they’ve built a two-decade-long friendship.
Aziz told THR Rogen’s support has meant “so much” to him over the years. “He’s not only an actor in the film, but he was always thinking about the film as a whole and how we could make it better and was so supportive of me,” he said. “He’s one of the people who has pulled off what we’re trying to pull off here in terms of making films that people can enjoy in a theater and have this communal experience. So any of his guidance and wisdom I took to heart.”
Good Fortune is now out in theaters.
Aziz Ansari and Seth Rogen speak onstage during the Good Fortune special screening at American Cinematheque’s Beyond Fest.
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Lionsgate
