The Hollywood star is the presenter for the new Disney+ documentary series on Brawn, which details how former F1 principal Ross Brawn masterminded a team from nowhere to claim the sport’s biggest prize in 2009.

Reeves may have seemed an unusual choice to the uninitiated but the man himself lifted the lid on his love of motor racing during an exclusive interview with talkSPORT.

And aptly, he admitted it was a friend who woke him up to the real world inside the glitz and glamour of Formula 1.

Reeves told talkSPORT Drive: “I’ve loved Formula 1 since I was a little kid.

“I didn’t follow every season and I didn’t watch every race but definitely love watching Formula 1 racing.

“The story was told to me – a friend of mine was like, “Did you know about the 2009 season about this team that was bought for a pound and won a championship?”, and I was like, ‘Tell me more!’.

“That’s really where it started just curious and appreciating racing and wanting to share this incredible story.”

Reeves’ involvement in the documentary is a particular coup, not just for his stardom, but his reputation as the nicest guy in Hollywood.

Reeves was embarrassed to be called the nicest man in HollywoodCredit: talkSPORT

Button seemed happy to finish on the nice guy podium behind ReevesCredit: talkSPORT

A Google search with that exact phrase will bring up multiple headlines describing him as such, detailing his charity work to his interactions with fans.

During his talkSPORT interview, Reeves was praised by Button for the manner in which he interviewed the people behind Brawn’s success.

The 59-year-old explained: “We just wanted to be respectful to everyone.

“We went with the approach that whomever we interviewed when they saw it felt like we respected their point of view in the story.”

Reeves added: “I’ve been part of making documentaries in the past and I really love being able to focus in and speak to people about a subject that they’re passionate about.

“For me, to have the opportunity to go into motorsports and have the support of Formula 1, the archive, and have the support of Ross Brawn and Nick Fry and that travelling out to everyone else involved like Jenson was really cool.

“I love a good sports documentary and to have the chance to travel, meet people it was just a really great experience and hopefully people like it.”

Lovely words indeed – but Reeves admitted he’s still not ready to be crowned the kindest man around.

He told talkSPORT: “Nice is nice and I’ll take it, it’s very nice I really appreciate it.”

Nicer than Button? “Nah, nah Jenson’s first man, he’s a champion!”

Guess that’s another pole position for Button then…