Keanu Reeves is sharing his fond memories of working with the late Diane Keaton.
“Total pro,” Reeves described the Oscar winner to E! News on Monday, October 13, at a New York City screening of his new film, Good Fortune.
The Matrix star added, “She was very nice to me. Generous, generous artist and a very special, unique person.”
News of Keaton’s death at age 79 broke on Saturday, October 11. A cause of death has yet to be revealed. The actress’ family “asked for privacy” in a statement to People.
Celebs React to the Death of Diane Keaton: Leonardo DiCaprio, More
Reeves, 61, starred alongside Keaton and Jack Nicholson in Nancy Meyers’ hit rom-com Something’s Gotta Give, released in 2003, and told E! News that it was a joy to watch the veteran actors on set.
“It was cool to be able to see her and Jack Nicholson together. Just with the history they shared and the way the fondness and love they had for each other. It’s really cool,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, Meyers, who directed and wrote Something’s Gotta Give, shared her own tribute to Keaton in an Instagram post. Meyers and Keaton also collaborated on 1987’s Baby Boom, 1991’s Father of the Bride and its 1995 sequel.
“These past 48 hours have not been easy,” Meyers, 75, wrote. “Seeing all of your tributes to Diane has been a comfort. As a movie lover, I’m with you all — we have lost a giant. A brilliant actress who time and again laid herself bare to tell our stories. As a woman, I lost a friend of almost 40 years — at times over those years, she felt like a sister because we shared so many truly memorable experiences.”
Diane Keaton Attended Pal Jack Nicholson’s Birthday Party Before Her Death
Meyers continued, “As a filmmaker, I’ve lost a connection with an actress that one can only dream of. We all search for that someone who really gets us, right? Well, with Diane, I believe we mutually had that. I always felt she really got me, so writing for her made me better because I felt so secure in her hands. I knew how vulnerable she could be. And I knew how hilarious she could be, not only with dialogue (which she said word for word as written but managed to always make it sound improvised) but she could be funny sitting at a dinner table or just walking into a room.”
Meyers went on to praise Keaton’s impressive body of work, which saw her win the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Annie Hall.
“I’ve watched all of her groundbreaking spectacular work with Woody Allen a million times and I watch her performance in Warren Beatty’s REDS with awe,” she wrote. “Diane did exactly the same for them because that is what she does. She goes deep. And I know those who have worked with her know what I know… she made everything better. Every set up, every day, in every movie, I watched her give it her all.”
Meyers added of working with Keaton, “When I needed her to cry in scene after scene in Something’s Gotta Give, she went at it hard and then somehow made it funny. And I remember she would sometimes spin in a kind of goofy circle before a take to purposely get herself off balance or whatever she needed to shed so she could be in the moment.”
“She was fearless, she was like nobody ever, she was born to be a movie star, her laugh could make your day and for me, knowing her and working with her changed my life. Thank you, Di. I’ll miss you forever,” Meyers concluded.
