Keanu Reeves couldnt be more thankful for the sci-fi mind-bender that made him an icon.

The pensive action star was visibly emotional when, during an appearance Tuesday on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert , he was asked to share his fondest memory from various productions and Colbert inquired about The Matrix on its 25th anniversary.

After an earnest pause that Colbert joked could be a commercial break, Reeves opened up.

The Matrix changed my life, the actor confessed . And then, over these years, its changed so many other peoples lives in really positive and great ways. As an artist, you hope for that when you get to do a film or tell a story.

And so when you say these years and the amount of people that I have met who have said to me they have been touched by The Matrix in such a positive way, Reeves continued before another reflective pause, its the best.

The actor has certainly touched millions more with a few other standouts from his career, including Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (1989), Point Break (1991) and Speed (1994), which are currently celebrating their 35th, 33rd and 30th anniversaries, respectively.

While those films successfully scratched an itch for comedy fans and action crowds, none has had quite the impact of Lilly and Lana Wachowskis The Matrix which blended philosophical questions about free will with visual effects the world had never seen before.