新澳门开奖结果

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Keanu Reeves

*Originally published by Diana K on June 2022 and Updated by Vanessa R on May 2023

Keanu Charles Reeves (born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in Youngblood (1986).

Keanu comes from humble beginnings. As a young teen, he worked two part-time jobs in Toronto, sharpening ice skates at a local ice skating rink and running errands at a gourmet Italian grocery store.

Reeves had an emotionally unstable childhood because his father left him and his mother when he was only 3 years old and his mother went on to marry three more times after that.

He travelled along with his mother to Sydney, New York and Toronto before he decided to leave for LA for good to start his acting career at the age of 15.

Often referred to as “Hollywood’s ultimate introvert”, Keanu Reeves is adored by millions due to his charming and humble persona, shunning the glitzy world of showbiz in favour of private and casual life and is regularly spotted on public transport by his fans.

His popular public reputation has been enhanced over the years due to his dedication to philanthropy. Below are 10 amazing facts about Keanu Reeves.

1. Keanu Reeves has a Multi-Cultural Background

Image by Mark Dunne from

Reeves is Canadian but he was actually born in Beirut, where his mother Patricia Taylor, a British costume designer and performer met his father, Samuel Reeves.

Reeves鈥� mother is English and originally from Essex. His father is an American born in Hawaii and of Chinese, English, Irish, Native Hawaiian, and Portuguese ancestry.

His dad was essentially out of the picture by the time Reeves was a toddler (and would eventually be arrested in Hawaii for selling drugs in 1994.

As a result, Reeves basically went wherever his mom’s career took them. They lived in Sydney and New York City, and eventually, they settled down in Toronto.

In addition to his travels, he was also exposed to Chinese and Hawaiian culture through his grandmother.

His upbringing may have been unconventional, but he definitely became more cultured because of it.

2. Keanu Reeves Loved Hockey as a Kid

Image by from

Reeves’ family moved to Canada when he was young, and he spent much of his childhood living in the Yorkville neighbourhood of Toronto.

In Toronto, Reeves became swept up in the appeal of ice hockey. He played throughout school and even co-coached a hockey club.

The youngster picked up street hockey as an activity to participate in while not in school.

He also started playing ice hockey, spending most of his time in games between the pipes as a goalie.

Reeves was so good at hockey that he continued to play goalie when he attended school at Toronto鈥檚 De La Salle College, a high school with a strong hockey tradition dating back to the 1950s.

He had an opportunity to try out for the Windsor Spitfires, a hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League.

Reeves turned it down, believing his future was in performing. Later, he would portray a hockey pro alongside Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe in 1986鈥檚 Youngblood.

3. Reeves鈥� first name 鈥淜eanu鈥� means 鈥渃ool breeze over the mountains鈥�

Image by from

Reeves was named after his paternal uncle Henry Keanu Reeves.

The name of his great-great-uncle Keaweaheulu means 鈥渢he soft breeze raising鈥� in Hawaiian.

When Reeves first came to Hollywood to be an actor, his agent thought his name was too exotic and suggested he changed it.

So, in the early movies in his career, he was sometimes credited as K.C. Reeves (after his full name Keanu Charles Reeves) or Norman Kreeves, or Chuck Spadina.

4. Keanu Reeves’s Role in the Movie Speed Sky- rocketed his Career

Image by Siebbi from

The turning point in Reeves鈥� career came when he landed the leading role in 鈥淪peed鈥� in 1994.

After this blockbuster hit sky-rocketed his career, he鈥檚 been successful enough to be more selective about his work.

Reeves was cast as the lead in Speed after the director saw him in Point Break, but before he landed the role it was offered to a who鈥檚 who of 90s actors like Stephen Baldwin, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.

Speed, a 1994 action film that won two Academy Awards and raked in $350.5 million worldwide and domestically, propelled Reeves to A-list status.

Since then, he鈥檚 happily taken supporting roles, as well as parts in experimental films.

Keanu Reeves revealed he turned down a role in “Speed 2” because of the script.

During an appearance on “The Graham Norton Show,” Reeves said he didn’t “respond” to the writing.

“I’m sure we’ve all had this kind of feeling… when things just don’t feel right,” he explained.

5. Keanu was a Bassist for 鈥楽mall Fecal Matter鈥� Band

Image by from

Dogstar is the name of a band that was born in 1991 and dissolved in 2002.

The band鈥檚 first name was Small Fecal Matter, later it became BFS by its initials of 鈥淏ig Fucking Shit / Sound,鈥� and then it finally became Dogstar.

Aside from acting, Keanu was also a bassist for the band Dogstar. They were together from 1991 to 2002.

During their career, they played with Bon Jovi, Rancid, Weezer, and toured through the U.S. and Asia.

Dogstar was an American alternative rock group active from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s.

The band found moderate success but garnered significant media attention due to the band’s bassist being Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves.

Rob Mailhouse broke up with the band. This was motivated by his desire to explore other rhythms, ending in a group called Becky, where Keanu Reeves himself also played the bass until offers came from the role of The Matrix.

6. Keanu Reeves is one of the Highest-Paid Actors in the World

Image by from

Between all three “Matrix” films, Keanu Reeves’ combined pay was $250 million.

Keanu Reeves is an actor, musician, producer and philanthropist who has a net worth of $380 million.

Youngblood, Keanu鈥檚 first film, earned him just $3000. His role in Bill & Ted鈥檚 Excellent Adventure earned him $95,000.

Speed, a 1994 film, earned him $1.2 million. After adjusting for inflation, that鈥檚 about $2 million.

In the sequel to Speed, he turned down $11 million for his role. He excused his absence by stating that he was on the road with his band.

Johnny Mnemonic earned him $2 million, while The Devil鈥檚 Advocate earned him $8 million.

Over the years he has starred in dozens of films, some of which have earned billions of dollars at the box office.

He is perhaps most well-known for The Matrix and the John Wick franchises.

7. Keanu Reeves Never Ceased the Opportunity to Become an American Citizen

Image by from

Despite being born in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, Keanu Reeves is a Canadian citizen.

While his mother, Patricia Taylor is English and originally from Essex, his father Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr has a mixed heritage.

As a child, he frequently moved between Australia and the USA, in New York City, (before finally settling in Toronto, Canada) for years, after his mother鈥檚 remarriage.

As a result of this, Keanu Reeves got his Canadian citizenship by naturalization.

However, he never attempted to become an American citizen because he was able to procure a green card through his American stepfather and consequently moved to Los Angeles.

Hence, despite being a Hollywood icon, he never went through the process of obtaining his American citizenship.

8. Keanu co-founded Arch Motorcycle Company

Image by CMetalCore from

Keanu co-founded a company which makes and sells custom motorcycles.

Keanu Reeves is a huge fan and collector of motorcycles.

Initially, he learned to ride a motorcycle while shooting a film in Germany and eventually brought himself one.

He is known for collecting various kinds of motorcycles. One of his all-time favourite bikes includes the 1973 Norton Commando.

He then co-founded a custom motorcycle dealership named Arch Motorcycle Company which is based in Canada.

Reeves got his abdominal scar from a motorcycle wreck in Topanga Canyon. He was on a 鈥渄emon ride鈥�, meaning no headlights at night when he crashed into the side of a mountain.

9. Fox Blacklisted Keanu Reeves for 10 years

Image by Mathew Lamb from

After the success of 1994鈥檚 Speed, where Reeves portrayed a cop trying to save the lives of people trapped on a bus rigged to explode, the studio was understandably eager for a sequel.

At the time he was shown the script, Reeves was shooting the 1996 action film Chain Reaction and was growing wary of roles where he was 鈥渞unning and jumping鈥� for little to no reason.

He turned Speed 2 down, a move that he believed led to a decade of being in 鈥渕ovie jail,鈥� where he was offered no other roles by Fox.

Turning down the $11 million dollar role for 鈥淪peed 2鈥� resulted in Reeves being blacklisted by 20th Century Fox for 10 years.

Ultimately, the sequel was made; Reeves was replaced by Jason Patric, who co-starred with Sandra Bullock in 1997鈥檚 Speed 2: Cruise Control.

The film was not well-received, and Reeves appears to have no regrets about saying no to it.

10.  Keanu Reeves Performs His Stunts on His Own

The actor revealed on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” this week that for his latest movie, “The Matrix Resurrections,” he jumped off a building “around 19, 20 times over the course of two days” to get it right.

Unlike most Hollywood actors and megastars, Keanu Reeves is known for performing his stunts.

He is also famously known for working through his injuries and persevering until the completion of filming.

While filming The Matrix, Keanu even sustained a spinal injury while performing the wire-work sequences of the film.

Two of the discs on his back began to fuse which almost resulted in him being partially paralyzed from his legs.

He also completed an extended fight scene during the filming of John Wick despite having a fever.

When describing Keanu Reeves, it is hard not to use the word duality, as he is one of the most divisive actors of all time.

People either love him or hate him. They think he is charismatic or dull, interesting or boring, Zen or zoned out. When it comes to Reeves, everything is black and white with no grey areas.

5 Most Popular Movies by Keanu Reeves

1. The Devil’s Advocate (1997)

The Devil’s Advocate is a strange hybrid movie. It’s a mixture of paranormal horror movies, John Grisham-style legal drama, psychological character study, and Paradise Lost imitations. Yet, the combination largely succeeded, giving Reeves’ resume one of its more distinguishing bullet points.

Here, he played Kevin Lomax, a talented lawyer who had no reservations about standing out for clients who are unquestionably guilty. When Lomax learns that one of the firm’s partners, John Milton (Al Pacino), is actually Satan, a job offer to join a famous New York law practice results in serious temptation.

2. Constantine (2005)

Reeves acted as John Constantine, an exorcist/demon hunter who went from working for a demon to fighting them. He was unwillingly drawn into the battle between angels and demons on Earth. While Constantine isn’t very well-regarded among comic book movies, it remains a good supernatural action movie despite not being a particularly good translation of the DC Hellblazer novels.

The way that the movie uses Constantine’s terminal lung cancer as the catalyst for his mission to trick his demonic adversaries and escape eternal damnation was a direct borrowing from the groundbreaking plot of “Dangerous Habits,” which served as the basis for the story.

3. The Matrix: Reloaded (2003)

In this wildly successful Matrix sequel, Keanu Reeves and the cast were simply fantastic. The film included flying Neo, the best action scene ever in a Matrix movie, a highway chase sequence, and a crazy Zion dance party which didn’t quite make sense but was interesting to watch anyways. It’s undeniable that this masterpiece of a movie is still one of Keanu Reeves’ biggest screen appearances. 

3. Parenthood (1989)

A cast comedy from 1989 director Ron Howard featured Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Rick Moranis, Dianne Wiest, and others in a story of family challenges that would eventually be loosely adapted into a successful NBC drama series (after an initial effort in 1990). Keanu Reeves played the charming “Ted”-style husband to Martha Plimpton’s character; this wasn’t his main acting role, but he was certainly involved. It was his role in such shows that eventually opened the door to his high-profile movies. 

4. Always Be My Maybe (2019)

Speaking of excellent supporting performances, in the wonderful rom-com Always Be My Maybe, Keanu Reeves played a subtle parody of himself. Reeves was a scene-stealer in his brief relationship with Ali Wong’s character Sasha, which included a pretentious double date that sent Marcus, played by Randall Park, into a jealous rage.

5. Toy Story 4 (2019)