It’s not every day you get to talk to Keanu Reeves. I never really thought I’d have the chance, so when the opportunity arrived, I was racking my brain for a fun way to talk about his new show, Hooligans: The ARCH Racing Project, which also features Gard Hollinger. It was especially challenging because I had only 8 minutes to speak with Reeves and Hollinger.
I usually like to avoid the obvious questions. The stuff you will end up reading everywhere. Why are motorcycles important to you? What was a memorable moment from your journey? Yada yada. I decided I’d get him to rank all of the iconic cars he’s driven throughout the years. After explaining what a tier list ranking even is (I forget that not everybody follows esports), Reeves was ready to give his rapid-fire thoughts. And in true Reeves fashion, he put every vehicle in S-tier. Even the station wagon from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. But I think that rings true to Reeves’ personality and outlook on life, which is actually more important than his opinion on these cars.
Reeves and Hollinger founded ARCH Motorcycle, a custom bike-building company, back in 2011. “Our personalities, our sensibilities, our senses of humor are similar,” Hollinger said of meeting Reeves in 2009. It was largely Reeves’ positivity that made Holinger want to work with him. The two now build made-to-order, raw, exciting models. And this has culminated in them competing in MotoAmerica, the country’s premier motorcycle road racing series.
The documentary follows Reeves and Hollinger’s pursuit of the title despite being a scrappier, smaller team. Despite being underdogs, they have the innovation and grit to hopefully make an impact. The bike they’re bringing is “completely ours,” Hollinger said to me. “It’s air-cooled, V-twin… It wasn’t meant to race.”
But that’s part of the excitement for the two. Doing the impossible. Reeves said that the series is looking for uniqueness and they are delivering: “We’re bringing our own power plant.” He seemed to view the entire experience with a sense of wonder, excitement, and genuine positivity. That’s just how he is. I have no doubt in my mind that he thinks every car he’s driven is S-tier.
Hooligans: The ARCH Racing Project is Samsung TV Plus’s first original docuseries produced by V10 Entertainment. It will premiere on the Samsung Television Network on Sunday, July 12th at 9 PM EST. The next five episodes will premiere every Sunday through August 16th.
Without further ado, here is Reeve’s official iconic car tier list, based on his experience getting to drive all of these awesome cars on set.
S-Tier
1969 Mustang Boss 429 (John Wick 1)
“The car sounds amazing, the pedigree, history, the design… S.”
1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 396 (John Wick 2)
“Nice color, too… Green. Same American big muscle car tradition. It’s a beast!”
2011 Dodge Charger SXT (John Wick 1)
“While going through the chase scene, I got to slide that around. I slide all the cars, except the Chevy. It was pretty boss, a legacy turned modern.”
1971 Plymouth ‘Cuda (John Wick 4)
“These are all amazing American muscle cars. Flowers and S’s. They all have their unique smell, sound… And how they attract people. They are magical entities. They’re so beautiful, people just stand around them and are like, ‘Oh my god.'”
1966 Lincoln Continental (Matrix)
“I loved the suicide doors. I was sitting in the back. It’s not a muscle car. It’s not very muscle-y. It’s very cool, though. It’s more of a baller style. Money. This one speaks of money. The others speak more of power.”
Station wagon (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure)
“Sometimes it’s not about the ride, it’s about the journey.”
Series II Rolls-Royce Ghost (John Wick 2)
“It was cool to be in Central Park making a movie that you love with the people that you love. And then getting out of a really cool car.”
A-Tier
B-Tier
C-Tier
D-Tier
F-Tier
Why are you still here? Reeves would never put a car in F-Tier.
