"I can't say it didn't help that I've been in the industry for however many years - I was a known quantity in that sense, " he says.

BBC: Side By Side: Keanu Reeves examines the future of film

It was a tricky maneuver, and it didn't help that during its approach Messenger had to lose radio contact with mission control while it flew behind the planet.

NPR: NASA Probe Glimpses Unseen Side of Mercury

It didn't help that in the middle of the discussion the electricity went out.

FORBES: Computing at the Bottom of the Pyramid