About:

Keanu Charles Reeves (/kiˈɑːnuː/ kee-AH-noo;[4][5][6] born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian[c] actor. He has received numerous accolades, including four MTV Movie & TV Awards and a Saturn Award. In 2020, The New York Times ranked him as the fourth greatest actor of the 21st century,[9] and in 2022, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.[10]

Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves made his acting debut in the Canadian television series Hangin’ In (1984), before making his feature film debut in Youngblood (1986). Reeves had his breakthrough role in the science fiction comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), and he reprised his role in its sequels. He gained praise for playing a hustler in the independent drama My Own Private Idaho (1991) and established himself as an action hero with leading roles in Point Break (1991) and Speed (1994).

Following several box office disappointments, Reeves’s performance in the horror film The Devil’s Advocate (1997) was well received. Greater stardom came for playing Neo in The Matrix (1999), with Reeves becoming the highest paid actor for a single production for reprising the role in the sequels Reloaded and Revolutions.[11] He played John Constantine in Constantine (2005) and starred in the romantic drama The Lake House (2006), the science fiction thriller The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), and the crime thriller Street Kings (2008). Following another commercially down period, Reeves made a career comeback by playing the titular assassin in the action film John Wick (2014) and its subsequent installments.

In addition to acting, Reeves has directed the film Man of Tai Chi (2013). He plays bass guitar for the band Dogstar and has pursued other endeavors such as developing the BRZRKR franchise and participating in philanthropic causes.

Early life

Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 2, 1964, to Patricia (née Taylor), a costume designer and performer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr. His mother is English, from Essex.[12] His American father is from Hawaii and is of Native Hawaiian, Chinese, English, Irish, and Portuguese descent.[5][13][14] His paternal grandmother is of Chinese and Hawaiian descent.[15] His parents met in Beirut, where his mother was working at the time. Reeves’s father abandoned the family when Reeves was three years old, and the two last met when Reeves was 13.[17]

After his parents’ divorce in 1966, Reeves’s mother moved the family to Sydney, then to New York City, where she married Paul Aaron, a Broadway and Hollywood director, in 1970. The couple moved to Toronto and divorced in 1971. Reeves grew up in the Yorkville neighborhood of Toronto, with a nanny frequently caring for him and his sisters. Due to his grandmother’s Chinese ethnicity, Reeves grew up with Chinese art, furniture, and cuisine.[21] He watched British comedy shows such as The Two Ronnies, and his mother imparted English manners that he has maintained into adulthood.[22]

Reeves attended four different high schools, including the Etobicoke School of the Arts, from which he was expelled. Reeves has dyslexia and has said, “Because I had trouble reading, I wasn’t a good student”.[25] At De La Salle College, he was a successful ice hockey goalkeeper. Reeves had aspirations to play for the Canadian Olympic team but decided to become an actor when he was 15. After leaving De La Salle College, he attended Avondale Secondary Alternative School, which allowed him to get an education while working as an actor. Reeves dropped out of high school when he was 17.[27] He obtained a green card through his American stepfather and moved to Los Angeles three years later. Reeves holds only Canadian citizenship.[7][8]

Career

1984–1990: Early work

In 1984, Reeves was a correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) youth television program Going Great. That same year, he made his acting debut in an episode of the television series Hangin’ In. In 1985, he played Mercutio in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Leah Posluns Theatre in North York, Ontario. He made further appearances on stage, including Brad Fraser’s cult hit Wolfboy in Toronto. He also appeared in a Coca-Cola commercial in 1983, and in the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) coming-of-age short film One Step Away.

When looking for work in the mid-1980s, his agents advised him to use a different name because his first name was “too ethnic.” He briefly attended auditions as “K.C.” or “Casey” Reeves before reverting to Keanu.

Reeves made a foray into television films in 1986, including NBC’s Babes in Toyland, Act of Vengeance, and Brotherhood of Justice. He made his first motion picture appearance in Peter Markle’s Youngblood (1986), in which he played a goalkeeper, and in the low-budget romantic drama Flying. He was cast as Matt in River’s Edge, a crime drama about a group of high school friends dealing with a murder case. The film premiered in 1986 at the Toronto International Film Festival to a largely positive response.

Towards the end of the 1980s, Reeves starred in several dramas aimed at teen audiences, including the lead in The Night Before (1988), The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988), and Permanent Record (1988). His other acting efforts included a supporting role in Dangerous Liaisons (1988), which earned seven nominations at the 61st Academy Awards, winning three: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design. This was followed by Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), in which he portrays a slacker who travels through time with a friend (portrayed by Alex Winter) to assemble historical figures for a school presentation.

In 1989, Reeves starred in the comedy-drama Parenthood directed by Ron Howard. In 1990, Reeves gave two acting performances; he portrayed an incompetent hitman in the black comedy I Love You to Death and played Martin, a radio station employee in the comedy Tune in Tomorrow. He also appeared in Paula Abdul’s music video for Rush Rush, which featured a Rebel Without a Cause motif, with him in the James Dean role.

1991–1994: Breakthrough with adult roles

In 1991, Reeves starred in Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, a sequel to Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the sequel was “more imaginative, more opulent, wilder and freer, more excitingly visualized,” praising the actors for their “fuller” performances. Roger Ebert thought it was “a riot of visual invention and weird humor that works on its chosen sub-moronic level.” Co-starring with River Phoenix as a street hustler in the adventure My Own Private Idaho, the characters embark on a journey of personal discovery. The film premiered at the 48th Venice International Film Festival, followed by a theatrical release in the United States on September 29, 1991. My Own Private Idaho was positively received, with Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly describing it as “a postmodern road movie with a mood of free-floating, trance-like despair.” The New York Times complimented Reeves and Phoenix for their insightful performances.

Reeves starred alongside Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty, and Gary Busey in the action thriller Point Break (1991), directed by Kathryn Bigelow. He plays an undercover FBI agent tasked with investigating the identities of a group of bank robbers. Point Break was generally well-received and a commercial success. Reeves’s performance was praised by The New York Times for “considerable discipline and range.” Writing for The Washington Post, Hal Hinson called Reeves the “perfect choice.” At the 1992 MTV Movie Awards, Reeves won the Most Desirable Male award.

In 1991, Reeves developed an interest in a music career; he formed an alternative rock band called Dogstar, consisting of members Robert Mailhouse, Gregg Miller, and Bret Domrose. Reeves played the bass guitar. In 1992, he played Jonathan Harker in Francis Ford Coppola’s Gothic horror Bram Stoker’s Dracula, based on Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. The film was critically and commercially successful. However, Reeves’s performance drew some ridicule. Bram Stoker’s Dracula was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning three in Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Makeup. The film also received four nominations at the British Academy Film Awards.

In 1993, he had a role in Much Ado About Nothing, based on Shakespeare’s play of the same name. The film received positive reviews, although Reeves was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor. In that same year, he starred in two more drama films, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and Little Buddha, both of which garnered a mixed-to-negative reception. The Independent critic gave Little Buddha a mixed review but opined that Reeves’s part as a prince was “credible.”

Reeves starred in the action thriller Speed (1994) alongside Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper. He plays police officer Jack Traven, who must prevent a bus from exploding by keeping its speed above 50 mph. Speed was released on June 10 to a critically acclaimed response. The film grossed $350 million from a $30 million budget and won two Academy Awards in 1995 – Best Sound Editing and Best Sound.

1995–1998: Continued acting efforts

Reeves’s next leading role