Canadian actor Keanu Reeves has inspired the naming of a new fungus-killing bacteria.
“The lipopeptides kill so efficiently that we named them after Keanu Reeves because he, too, is extremely deadly in his roles,” Sebastian Götze, a researcher with Germany’s Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, shared in a news release on Monday.
In honour of the actor, the substance is known as “keanumycins” and is effective against fungi that cause disease in plants and people. According to the press release, it is an environmentally beneficial substitute for chemical pesticides because it is safe for plant and human cells.
A user asked the 58-year-old actor, “Researchers from Germany found a compound naturally produced by some type of bacteria that is so effective at killing fungi, they named it after you: keanumycins. What are your thoughts about that?”
Reeves joked: “They should’ve called it John Wick … but that’s pretty cool … and surreal for me. But thanks, scientist people! Good luck, and thank you for helping us.”
The actor took the character to the next level for the upcoming installment in the movie franchise, calling it “the hardest physical role I’ve ever had in my career so far,” in an interview with Total Film in January.
“They really trained me up to be able to have what we call the toolbox,” he added.
Revealing he also upped his stunt-driving skills for some action-packed scenes set in Paris, the Matrix star explained, “We took the car-driving to the next level, which I really enjoy.”
“There’s 180s, forward-into-reverse 180s, reverse-into-forward 270s, drifting. … So it was really fun to get a chance to learn those skills and to play,” he shared.
After wrapping up filming for the movie, Reeves surprised his stunt team with generous gifts.
The star gifted the four-man crew — made up of Bruce Concepcion, Jeremy Marinas, Dave Camarillo and Li Qiang — with individually personalized Rolex Submariner watches during a dinner in Paris in October 2021.
Marinas shared a glimpse of his watch on his Instagram Story, calling it the “best wrap gift ever” in the caption and revealing his watch read, “The John Wick Five” along with the message, “Jeremy Thank you Keanu JW4 2021.”
The movie was set to debut in May of 2022 but the release was pushed back almost a year.
The trailer sees Reeves’ iconic hitman out for revenge three years after 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, which grossed $327,281,779 at the worldwide box office.
