I’ve been thinking about life after death – and I want to come back as Keanu Reeves | Adrian Chiles

He’s got looks, talent and money … but is also generous and modest. Who could ask for more?

Keanu Reeves says that, at 59, he’s thinking about death all the time. We’ve a lot in common, Keanu and I. I’m 57 and I, too, think about death all the time. Today, my specific thought on the subject is how much I would like to come back as Keanu Reeves.

Let us set aside his looks, acting talent and money. Not that I don’t covet them, but we’ll take those as read. There’s so much else to go on. Even Keanu’s preoccupation with death has common sense and positivity running through it like a stick of rock. “Hopefully it’s not crippling, but hopefully it’s sensitised [us] to an appreciation of the breath we have, and the relationships that we have the potential to have.” Oh stop it, Keanu, you’re too much. Oh hang on, there’s more: “I know the ones who love us will miss us.” In his case, that will be an awful lot of people.

Adrian Chiles is a broadcaster, writer and Guardian columnist