Keanu Reeves Reveals He Was Fired From Broadcast Job Early in Career
Keanu Reeves, 61, has spent the past four decades in Hollywood, starring in popular films like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, The Matrix, and John Wick. Yet, the Canadian actor has an unshakeable reputation as a down-to-earth, regular guy. Still, seeing him as a youth correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) before becoming an A-list actor is still a bit of a surprise.
Reeves was one of the youth reporters for the CBC show Going Great. He interviewed kids and teenagers who were doing remarkable things. In one YouTube video, he attempts to juggle after chatting with teen juggler Claude Beaudoin. "How hard can it be?" He questions before showing that it's actually not as easy as it looks.
In another video, he visits Susan Keers, a 16-year-old equestrian who started her own riding school in Woodstock, Ontario. At one point, he declares that he'd "rather be with hot, sweaty, big horses than Jacqueline Bisset or Elizabeth Taylor any day." Fortunately, that statement didn't come back to haunt him. Even so, he's starred opposite many gorgeous actresses during his career, including Charlize Theron and Sandra Bullock.
While it's entertaining watching the Outcome star jump onto a horse and attempt to juggle, watching him attend Canada's first International Teddy Bear Convention is when he truly shines. After interviewing 13-year-old Graham Abbey, who owns 53 teddy bears, he decides to find a bear of his own to hang out with, which brings out his silliness.
After Abbey brings him a giant, fluffy, white teddy bear, Reeves says, "Aww, she's so cute, look at that!" Before pretending to be violently attacked by the bear. "You're not a bear!" he exclaims, before falling to the ground with the bear "biting" his neck.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he discussed his stint on Going Great.
"That was one of my first gigs," he revealed. He seemed reluctant to talk about it, but admitted that "it was really fun, actually. Go on the road, meet people."
"They fired me after the first year," he laughed. "I got one year of Going Great, and then it was just not going at all."
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This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 10:55 AM.