John Wick spin-off star Ana de Armas recalls accidentally telling Keanu Reeves that she hadn't seen The Matrix: "That will never not be embarrassing"

Ana de Armas as Eve in John Wick spin-off Ballerina
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Ballerina star Ana de Armas has opened up about an "embarrassing" moment when she first met her co-star Keanu Reeves and accidentally told him that she hadn't seen The Matrix.

"I met him when I barely spoke English when I moved to LA, 10 years ago. I met Keanu for the first time in Santiago de Chile at lunch with the filmmakers of Knock Knock, our first movie together," de Armas recalled on-stage at this year's CinemaCon (via The Hollywood Reporter).

Released in 2015, Knock Knock was directed by Eli Roth and follows a family man (Reeves) who finds two supposedly lost women (one of whom was played by de Armas) turn up on his doorstep while his wife and kids are away.

"We were sitting across from each other on the table, and I was really nervous as you are when you’re in front of Keanu Reeves," she continued. "I couldn’t talk to him much because I was so self-conscious about my English and I was really struggling and really trying hard to follow the conversation."

While the filmmakers discussed Reeves' career, the conversation soon turned to The Matrix. "He looked at me and asked me if I had seen it. And I was like, 'The Matrix? No.' Everyone at the table was shocked, so someone came to me and told me in Spanish," de Armas added. "'You haven’t seen La Matrix?' I was, like, 'Oh, La Matrix. Yeah, I have seen that one.' That will never not be embarrassing."

10 years later, the pair are starring in another movie together: Ballerina. The upcoming movie is set between the third and fourth movies, and de Armas plays the titular dancer-turned-assassin. Reeves is returning as John Wick, alongside Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, and the late Lance Reddick, while Total Recall helmer Len Wiseman is in the director's chair.

Ballerina arrives in theaters on June 6. For more viewing inspiration, fill out your watchlist with our guide to the rest of this year's upcoming movies.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

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