Keanu Reeves discovered he almost lost out on major job to Barack Obama

It has emerged that former President Barack Obama almost beat out Keanu Reeves for an iconic role in a prestige TV series, a fact that was news to the Hollywood acting legend.

Keanu was left dumbstruck when he was informed of the intense competition for his role in the smash-hit TV show, Severance. 

The actor played the uncredited voice of the Lumon building, a calm and reassuring voice that attempts to convince the mind-splitting company's employees to toe the corporate line and quit their rebellion.

The surprising news was delivered to the Matrix star by football stars, Travis and Jason Kelce, when he appeared on their podcast, New Heights.

Jason asked the 61-year-old: "What was it like almost losing out on the role to Barack Obama?"

To which a shocked Reeves responded: "I didn't know!"

Keanu Reeves was shocked to find out Obama almost beat him (Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

The actor then asked the brothers whether Ben Stiller told them that, to which Jason replied that the Zoolander star told them he was 'thinking about Barack Obama' for the cameo role.

Keanu then reflected on the information, telling them: "Well, Barack must have said no..." before adding: "Oh my God, I was the second choice?"

Stiller has been open in interviews about his pursuit of the former president to be the voice of the Lumon building, telling Jimmy Kimmel on his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, that he'd approached the 64-year-old with the offer, but he sadly turned it down for a particular reason.

Detailing what happened, Stiller said that he sent Obama an email offering the part via a friend who knows his lawyer. Two days later, the Tropic Thunder star got a reply, though it wasn't the one he was hoping for.

Barack Obama had to turn down the role because of his busy schedule (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

According to Stiller, Obama's message read: "Hey Ben, big fan of the show, love Season 1, can’t wait for Season 2. Don’t think I have time in my schedule to make this happen."

"What’s more important than doing the voiceover for the animated building in Severance?" he joked. "It was pretty cool that he responded."

Had he said yes, the Lumon building voice role would have been President Obama's third acting gig since leaving office, following his acclaim for voicing the Netflix nature series Our Great National Parks and Our Oceans.

Series creator Dan Erickson has separately revealed the decision-making process behind the Lumon voiceover, telling Collider: "All I can say is that we talked about a couple of different people for that role.

"We always wanted it to be somebody that people have certain associations with, but also, it had to be a very warm presence. The Lumon building is very friendly in the context of this video, and there’s a friendliness to that particular voice and a heart to that particular voice.”

However, Reeves was more than happy with being the second choice, adding: "That's OK, as long as I got the gig."