No, he is not Keanu Reeves… Although he is often mistaken for the Canadian Hollywood star, Ömer Aslan is a 39-year-old physical education teacher from the city of Konya, in central Turkey, whose resemblance to the actor who plays John Wick has brought him unexpected fame in recent years. It all started in 2021, when he was in the central district of Eminönü, in the heart of Istanbul, when he noticed a crowd of people addressing him, even in English, asking to take pictures with him.
A brief internet search led Aslan (whose surname means “Lion” in Turkish) to realise that he resembled the famous actor Keanu Reeves, so he gradually transformed his personal image and dressing style to resemble that of the character in the “John Wick” film series. From there, many began to call him the “John Wick of Konya” because of his distinctive accent from this Central Anatolian province (where the “k” sound is pronounced as “g”), a fame that Aslan has been using to promote culture and tourism in Konya and throughout the region, creating videos that he shares through social media.
Throughout this time, Aslan has encountered many interesting anecdotes due to his resemblance to Keanu Reeves. “People usually say ‘This guy looks like John Wick… but his accent is from Konya. Is he a lookalike?’ Some people even contact me from abroad, from Canada, Belgium, or Germany,” he explained.
Some people even think he is really Keanu Reeves. “Once, someone said to me ‘Hey man, I saw your movie yesterday. You’re fantastic. Let’s take a picture’. Even though I said ‘I’m not John Wick, I’m from Konya‘… I couldn’t convince him, no matter how hard I tried to explain… These things happen to me very often. In Antalya, in Alanya, in Istanbul and at the Galata Tower… tourists call me in English. But I only understand ‘John Wick’ and ‘Keanu Reeves’. I tell them ‘I am Turkish, from Anatolia, I am the John Wick of Konya’.
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As a history lover, Pablo Gómez was captivated by Turkey from the first day he visited it in 2006: he got married there, has a house there… and has since become an expert on Turkey’s current affairs. With a long experience in media, he has been at the helm of hispanatolia.com since 2011.
