To celebrate National Teddy Bear day on Thursday, the Canadian Broadcasting Company shared a hilarious old video of actor Keanu Reeves reporting on the first-ever Canadian International Teddy Bear Convention.
The short clip was originally a part of the children's news magazine series Going Great, which Reeves was a correspondent and co-host on for its third season. In a follow-up tweet, the CBC wrote that this segment aired around 1984, making the young actor about 20 years old in the video.
At the beginning of the clip, Reeves says in voiceover that he expected "a lot of craziness," covering the convention. The camera then cuts to shots of him asking hard-hitting, journalistic questions such as, "Why are all the bears' first name Teddy?" (This isn't in the clip, but it's because of President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt!)
Reeves also asks a woman where her bear went to college, and she replies, "Paws Preparatory School," before showing off the bear's "Paws Prep" t-shirt. He also asks someone what their friends' reaction is to them collecting the Teddy bears, but the clip cuts away before hearing the response.
Despite being there as "A Very Serious Journalist," Reeves did seem to have fun at the convention. At one point, someone hands him a bear, and he acts like it's attacking him. He also gets stylish at one point, donning a set of sunglasses while he's speaking to a stuffed bear.
"I've been looking all over for you. We gotta go down to the bears-only cafe and talk 'bears-ness.' Listen, you know that bears necessity contest? We've got problems. So listen, we'll go down. We'll talk business, and hey, everything will be okay. I love this guy," he says to the Teddy before giving it a kiss.
The end of the clip has Reeves joking, "As Graham Abbey says, 'If the bear fits...,'" before the footage cuts to a child saying, "Wear it." (The kid's wearing a hat decorated with a teddy bear on top, FYI.)
Going Great, which also aired on Nickelodeon, was some of the earliest work Reeves had in the entertainment industry, over a decade before he would astonish audiences in The Matrix trilogy.
The CBC show often focused on children with out-of-the-ordinary skills that would impress young viewers. A few other clips of Reeves on Going Great have also resurfaced on YouTube, including ones that focus on a teenage juggler and a young equestrian teacher. The horseback riding episode is particularly amusing, as it shows Reeves learning how to mount and ride a horse, a skill that later came in handy when Reeves had to shoot 2019's John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum.
Reeves' publicist did not respond to Newsweek's emailed request for comment in time for publication.
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