Alex Winter reflects on emotional stage reunion with Keanu Reeves after 35 years

Alex Winter has opened up about sharing the stage on Broadway with longtime friend Keanu Reeves, describing the experience as “very trippy and uncommon” after more than three decades of friendship and collaboration.

Speaking on The Small Bow on April 22, the 60-year-old actor reflected on reuniting with Reeves, 61, in the revival of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, which ran at the Hudson Theatre in New York from late 2025 into early 2026.

Winter said the production carried a unique emotional weight because of their long history together, dating back to their breakout roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

“It helped that we’re really good friends and we give each other space,” he explained, adding that performing alongside someone he has known for decades brought both comfort and intensity.

“It was stressful, so we had each other,” Winter said, noting that early in rehearsals, both actors acknowledged the unusual nature of reuniting on stage after so many years. “Will we both be friends when we come out the other end?” he recalled them joking.

In the production, Winter played Vladimir opposite Reeves as Estragon, two characters waiting for the mysterious Godot.

Winter said the themes of long-term companionship and uncertainty resonated strongly with their own real-life relationship.

“There are times when I’m looking at him on stage and he’s Estragon and he’s Keanu and I’m thinking about stuff that happened between us almost 35 years ago,” he said, describing the experience as deeply layered and emotionally complex.

Winter added that unlike film sets, which he described as “traumatic” at times, working on stage with Reeves felt more intimate and grounded, shaped by mutual trust rather than pressure.

“It was two guys at 60 years old who’ve both been through a lot, doing a play that’s about exactly that,” he said, emphasizing the personal connection they brought to the material.