Keanu Reeves led an interesting life. After his first breakout role as Ted Logan in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, he jumped from genre to genre, from one iconic role after another. While he had a brief dry spell going through the 2000s, he staged an epic comeback in the middle of the 2010s on a stage called the “Keanu-ssance”.
Through the highs and lows of his professional career and personal life, fans stick with him till the end. And the public embraced his humble, down-to-earth personality, making him “Internet’s boyfriend”. Yet, there is a lot to learn from him.
He Is Of Many Descents
Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Keanu Charles Reeves is the son of costume designer Patricia Taylor and Samuel Reeves Jr. His mother came from Essex, England, while his father originated from Kauai, Hawaii. The latter had a mix of Native Hawaiian, Chinese, English, Irish and Portuguese descent. Yet, Keanu is Canadian.
More impressively, he was named after his great-great-uncle, whose name in Hawaiian means “breeze over the mountains”. But he was initially requested to adopt a stage name – one of them being Chuck Spadina. Thankfully, Keanu honored his roots as “Keanu”.
He Played 8 Characters Named John
The common denominators among Keanu Reeves’ roles are “the Chosen Ones”, “the hipster lone wolves” and the guys named “John”. Among them include Johnny Utah from Point Break, Jonathan Harker from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Don John from Much Ado About Nothing, Johnny Mnemonic from Johnny Mnemonic, John from Generation Um… and John Constantine from Constantine.
Obviously, the most successful among them is John Wick in the highly successful John Wick franchise. Add more to that is playing Johnny Silverhand in the highly successful Cyberpunk 2077. What an epic comeback indeed.
He Was Once In A Band
His ion for rock-and-roll, as fully depicted in the Bill & Ted trilogy, is not a fluke. Reeves once crossed paths with TV actor Robert Mailhouse, who had a shared ion for hockey. They became friends and held jamming sessions together. And in 1991, the two set up an alternative rock band called Dogstar with Gregg Miller and Bret Domrose.
With Keanu on bass, the band released two studio albums and even opened for Jon Bovi in Australia and New Zealand. In 2002, they disbanded, due to Keanu’s schedule commitments.
His Mom Got Involved In Rock-and-Roll
That love for rock was seemingly shared (or ed genetically) from his mother, who jumped from a career as a Paris showgirl to a costume designer. When they moved to Toronto, in one of many amazing coincidences, Patricia once served for rock star Alice Cooper.
If that is not amazing enough, Cooper also babysat a young Keanu. Amazing that a legend took care of a fellow legend. But that is not the last time Patricia got in touch with rock-and-roll; in 1976, she married Robert Miller, a rock music promoter.
He Directed A Film
One of the milestones to become a legitimate Hollywood star is to direct a film. Reeves found this possible with directing the 2013 film Man of Tai Chi. Comprising of a mostly Asian cast, this martial arts film centers on a young martial artist who enters the world of underworld fight clubs as survival means.
Reeves also appeared in the film as the villain, Donaka Mark. While the film received mostly positive reviews, it bombed in the box office. Coincidentally, his other film, 47 Ronin, was released a month after.
He Has His Own Motorcycle Company
Reeves was also known for being an enthusiastic motorcyclist. Amazingly, he drove 1,000 miles by motorcycle, just to deliver a script for the drama River Phoenix and convince him to accept the role. The long distances and the numerous injuries do not stop Keanu’s ion for motorcycles.
That ion leads to him and bike builder Gard Hollinger establishing the Arch Motorcycle Company in 2011. As of 2017, Arch created three models, aimed to capture the feel of a cruiser on a motorcycle.
He Was A Hockey Player
Going back to his Toronto roots, while he failed to perform in his academics, he excelled at sports as a hockey player. During his time at De La Salle College, he became a successful player that he was given the nickname “The Wall”. His success led him to the dream of being a representative for the Canadian team in the Olympics.
However, due to his mom’s relationship with stepfathers that worked for Broadway and Hollywood, Keanu sensed that acting is his true calling. Thus, he transferred to an acting school after.
He Cut Off His Pay Rate To Gauge Film Quality
Keanu Reeves is known for his generosity. This exemplified after the tremendous success of The Matrix when he gave his $75 million earnings to the costumes and effects team and bought Harley Davidson motorcycles to his entire stunt team. He would go as far as cutting his salary, just to increase the production quality and star marquee of his films.
This happened in The Devil’s Advocate when he accepted a pay cut for Al Pacino to be cast. And in return, he remained one of the highest-paid actors ever.
His Loved Ones Faced Tragic Fates
Even for an enigmatic person like Keanu, he is not exempted from devastating life tragedies. In 1993, his friend River Phoenix ed away from a drug overdose, which affected Keanu’s production schedule for Speed. In 1999, Reeves’ then-girlfriend Jennifer Syme gave birth to Ava Archer, but she was stillborn upon delivery.
Tragically, the two broke up after, seeing a strain in their relationship. Two years later, Syme, who was being treated for depression, ed away from a vehicle collision. Because of this, Keanu avoided romantic relationships. But lately, he expressed his desire to raise a family.
He Is Truly Active For A Man Of His Age
Born on the 2nd of September 1964, Keanu amazingly sustained a content personal and professional life, keeping him active until. For a movie star who is 56 (as of this writing), he kept faith in the direction of his career. He is currently booked with filming The Matrix 4 and John Wick - Chapters 4 and 5 on a back-to-back basis.
And on his personal side, in 2009, he met artist Alexandra Grant and collaborated with her for two books. The two then reveal about their relationship last 2019. It just shows things pay off in life in a breathtaking way.