Cox and Reeves star together in the dark comedy 'Outcome,' which is currently streaming on Apple TV
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Keanu-Reeves-Laverne-Cox-041026-551b2e941c0343e59f9ce43aff9c7ec8.jpg "Laverne Cox Reveals What Working with Keanu Reeves Is Really Like, Says He's 'Almost Shy’")
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NEED TO KNOW
- Laverne Cox revealed what Keanu Reeves is like on set
- Cox recently worked with Reeves on the dark comedy Outcome, which is currently streaming on Apple TV
- Cox caught up with PEOPLE exclusively at the film’s New York City premiere on April 6
Laverne Cox is revealing what it was like working with Keanu Reeves on the set of their new movie, Outcome.
Cox, 53, spoke with PEOPLE exclusively at the premiere of the dark comedy in New York City on April 6. During the conversation, the actress shared that Reeves, 61, was “focused’ on set.
“Keanu is focused, and Keanu is intense and just dialed in every single take,” Cox said.
“But once his coverage is done, he just chills a bit, and he’s talking more. But he’s chill and really normal — as normal as you can be when you’re an international superstar,” she continued. “But very chill, and unassuming and almost shy, which makes you want him even more.”
“But I was very appropriate on set — I didn’t flirt,” she added.
Cox also said that she wasn’t initially sure about doing the film, which is directed and co-written by Jonah Hill, but that she became passionate about the project as soon as she read the script.
Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty
“[I received] an email with a personal note from Jonah about my work and how he really wanted me for this character, Virginia. And it was so sweet. And I said, ‘Oh, this is lovely.’ And then I was like, ‘Well, let’s read the script,’ ” Cox recalled.
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“And the script was so smart, so funny, so insightful. So insightful what Virginia gets to say — it started as a five-page monologue that she has that’s some of the most prescient, smartest stuff I’ve gotten to say as a character on screen. And I was like, ‘Okay, I have to do this,’ ” she added.
“And then Keanu Reeves, it’s like, honestly, [Jonah] could’ve just led with Keanu Reeves and I would’ve been like, ‘I’m in. I’m in,’ ” she continued.
The Orange Is the New Black alum shared that she deeply resonated with the themes of the film, which center around fame, loneliness and disconnection.
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Credit: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
“It hit close to home in a way that was scary and frightening,” Cox told PEOPLE. “The overawareness that Reef [Reeves’ character] has about how [with] every interaction, people are going to perceive him in a certain way and then go and talk about it.”
“I’ve always had that awareness, too, and it’s debilitating. It really can be,” she continued, adding, “So it’s like, how do you give yourself permission to just be?”
In addition to Cox and Reeves, Outcome also stars Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, David Spade and Hill. It is currently streaming on Apple TV.