Following the death of Sonny Chiba on Thursday (19 Aug), a video of Keanu Reeves meeting his hero for the first time has resurfaced on social media. Watch below:
Sonny Chiba is known to English speaking audiences for his role as Hattori Hanzō in Quentin Tarantino's two-part movie series Kill Bill.
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The footage is from Reeves' promotion campaign for 2017's John Wick 2, but it found its way onto Twitter following the announcement of Chiba's death from complications as a result of contracting Covid-19.
In the footage, we see Keanu being interviewed by the show's host, discussing his fondness for Chiba's work, when suddenly who should appear from behind the curtain but the Kill Bill star himself.
A visibly awestruck Reeves is absolutely delighted to see his hero.
The pair shake hands and hug like old buddies, in a heart-warming display of mutual respect.
Keanu says: [You managed to have] character and action and you brought [them] together [which is] very tough.
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Chiba also surprisingly says: "10 years ago there was a script written for a movie we'd shoot together, called Brothers."
Not giving away the game as to whether he was aware of this or not, Keanu grins and replies: "Now we'd be Older Brothers!"
As you'd expect given the world's ongoing love affair with all things Keanu, the clip has gone down a storm with Twitter users.
One person wrote: "This is SO cool. Thanks for posting this. They say, never meet your heroes.
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"The look on Keanu's face was priceless. Thank you."
A second added: "I loved Keanu anyway but, seeing the way he struggles for words in front of such a huge legend, it only further affirms for me how humble and respectful he is.
"Two wonderful humans in one wonderful clip."
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Another person wrote: "I feel like Keanu wants to bow to Sonny so bad but in fear of doing it wrong so he just kinda bows and also shakes hands and also hugs.
"Both of these guys win. Rest in peace Sonny."
Though Chiba mostly appeared in Japanese-language movies, he made a number of forays into Western blockbusters, also appearing in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.
Chiba continued to be active in the industry as an actor and director well into his later years, taking on what would be his final screen role in 2019 before passing away at the age of 82.
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RIP Sonny Chiba.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: TV and Film, Celebrity, keanu reeves