Once a year, Time publishes a ‘Person of the Year’ issue of its weekly magazine, which features, profiles and sometimes celebrates a significantly notable person, group or idea etc. from that year.
Time editors gather annually to decide on the Person of the Year, and while readers of the magazine are eligible to vote who they think may win the title each year, they actually have no input on picking the winning candidate.
One individual, however, by the name of Jackson Beem, ignored this and decided to launch his own Change.org petition in an effort to induce the Time Magazine editors to choose Keanu Reeves as the 2019 Person of the Year this December.
That’s right. Keanu Reeves, the Canadian-American star of the 1990s who starred in the Matrix franchise and Speed. The petition simply reads: “Keanu is the most wholesome person alive, make him the person of the year!”
Beem launched his petition with a goal of 15,000 signatures. It was live for just over a week before going viral on Wednesday morning. It gained more than 20,000 signatures in only a matter of hours.
READ MORE: Fans praise Keanu Reeves for how he takes photos with women
Since 1927, figures from across the globe, including Queen Elizabeth II, Barack Obama and more controversially, Donald Trump, have been selected for the accolade.
So why Reeves? Some might ask. Individuals must meet a certain criteria in order to be considered a suitable candidate for Time’s Person of the Year.
They must be a “person (or persons) who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year,” according to their FAQ.
Well, as Time requires, the humble and coy 54-year-old entertainer has kept himself extremely busy in 2019, and it seems he’s made quite the impact after completely winning over the internet.
From his portrayal of “Canada’s greatest stuntman,” Duke Caboom, in Toy Story 4 to reprising his role as the fearsome John Wick in the franchise’s third instalment, John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum, Reeves has done it all this year.
READ MORE: Keanu Reeves entertains stranded passengers after emergency landing
He’s played a vital part, literally and figuratively, in promoting and making some of the most highly anticipated films of the year the success that they are now.
As a result of this, the “wholesome” actor is being praised massively online and swooned over widely, with many referring to him as the “internet’s boyfriend.”
His over-the-top comedic cameo in Ali Wong’s recent smash-hit rom-com, Always Be My Maybe, even gained some positive traction online.
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Reeves’s cultural impact has been highlighted prominently across social media since the inception of the viral “Sad Keanu” meme back in 2010.
Yet again, there was a social media resurgence in 2018 once it was revealed he would return as Theodore “Ted” Logan in the upcoming third — and currently untitled — Bill & Ted movie.
His popularity reached even further heights during an E3 2019 presentation earlier this month, when it was revealed that he would play a part in the upcoming and long-awaited Cyberpunk 2077 video game
As a surprise, Reeves took the stage and concluded the presentation. He then earned himself mass appraisal online after calling the E3 crowd “breathtaking” mid-presentation, which was broadcasted live. “You’re all breathtaking,” he exclaimed.
His likeness has been used for the game and he’s set to voice a macho character by the name of Johnny Silverhand.
CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 drops on April 16, 2020.
READ MORE: ‘John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum’ review: All action, no sense, full Keanu
Although he’s becoming very aware of his online popularity, Reeves has remained humble.
“It’s been really nice and special for me,” he said on being embraced so positively by fans across the world, to ET Canada. “Just how well the John Wick film was received and then also recently with Always Be My Maybe and then being connected with CD Projekt Red.”
“I’ve had the chance to be working with really cool people and be a part of really cool projects,” he concluded.
In response to being the “internet’s boyfriend,” Reeves laughed and said “that’s wacky,” during an interview with Entertainment Tonight on the red carpet for the world premiere of Toy Story 4.
WATCH: Fans praise Keanu Reeves for how he takes photos with women
Reeves’s kind-hearted nature was also highlighted recently for not only entertaining stranded passengers and fans at an airport in Bakersfield, Calif., after an unexpected emergency landing, but for the way he poses with women in photographs.
There’s also a video of him playing with puppies during a visit to the BuzzFeed studio. The reception was phenomenal.
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As of this writing, Beem’s petition has reached more than 31,000. The current goal is set at 35,000.
You can sign the ‘Make Keanu Reeves 2019 Times Person of the Year’ petition here.