Michale B. Jordan has just released his new action movie, Tom Clancy's Without Remorse, a film that required some seriously intense training. Jordan has come a long way in his career, leading the Creed series and starring in MCU film Black Panther. Needless to say, he has really cemented himself as a bonafide superstar. Jordan, who can’t escape his sexiest man alive title, is now reflecting on his first movie and how it feels to have worked with Matrix legend Keanu Reeves on the set.
Way back in 2001, Michael B. Jordan starred in Hardball with Neo himself, Keanu Reeves. Hardball followed Reeves as a gambler-turned-little league coach of a ragtag group of kids from one of the toughest places in Chicago. This was Jordan’s first film, and he recently remarked on the experience of working with a superstar like Keanu Reeves at such a young age, telling The Hollywood Reporter:
The Matrix was such a big thing. The kids would goof around with Keanu, re-enacting scenes, like dodging bullets in slow motion. They were in awe of Keanu. All these kids were new and raw and had never made a film before.
Imagine your first movie being made with the biggest star on the planet; that’s what happened with Michael B. Jordan through Hardball. Jordan describes himself as the young cast being in awe of Keanu Reeves, who was fresh off his iconic role as Neo in The Matrix. Reeves was a big deal, and all the kids were fans and apparently had a lot of fun working with their hero. During the same interview, Jordan went on to describe another cool moment involving Reeves, and any film fan would be jealous. He recalled:
While we were in production, Keanu took the whole cast out to dinner, and we had a chance to meet [his Matrix co-star] Laurence Fishburne. To this day, I still remember thinking to myself in astonishment, 'I guess this is what movie stars do — take their casts out to dinner with other big actors.' So much respect for Keanu and Laurence. It really was such a cool moment with two of my heroes.
Working with and being taken to dinner by Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne seems like an amazing experience for a young actor. Michael B. Jordan definitely felt the impact of that moment and how special it was that two stars of that magnitude took the time to make the cast feel special. It's nice to see that Jordan still fondly remembers that incredible feeling two of his heroes gave him and his castmates.
Keanu Reeves is still making waves and adding to his legend with John Wick 4 heading towards the start of production and The Matrix 4, which is a movie we are all willing to wait to see on the big screen, getting ready for release. Keanu has used his action movie clout to get his own comic book, so he isn’t slowing down in the slightest, he’s just adding more to his repertoire.
Like his hero Keanu Reeves, Michael B. Jordan is carving out quite the action movie resume. Hopefully, in the near future, we get to see Michael B. Jordan in a Matrix movie, the John Wick franchise or an original film, so we can bring the Hardball connection full circle.
Michael B. Jordan's Without Remorse is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
