Keanu Reeves Turns 60: The Actor's Story

Contents:

• How it all began
• How he became famous
• What we know about Keanu in life
• What to watch besides "The Matrix" and "John Wick"

How it all began

"Keanu" in Hawaiian means "cool wind blowing from the mountains." The actor's father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr., was Hawaiian with Chinese, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry. Keanu's mother, Patricia, on the other hand, is a purebred Englishwoman from Essex. She instilled in her son a love of British comedy shows and truly English good manners that are hard to miss. And thanks to his paternal grandmother, who was Chinese, Reeves grew up surrounded by Chinese art, elegant Far Eastern furniture, and developed a taste for Chinese cuisine.
Keanu seems to be a blend of the diverse modern world: perhaps that's why he seems like a "guy from everywhere," with an appearance that is attractive and exotic, yet somehow very familiar. And he was born in Lebanon, of all places. Patricia and Samuel met in Beirut: it was a hippie, carefree time, and the young couple were traveling the world in search of themselves. Samuel, however, soon abandoned his wife and child. Keanu was only three years old at the time, and he never forgave his father for this defection.
Then the family was carried around the world: Australia, the USA, Canada. His mother entered into one relationship after another, so Keanu lived with three different stepfathers. All this hardly contributed to a happy childhood. In addition, they had to change schools frequently; the boy was diagnosed with dyslexia, which greatly hindered his studies. Keanu was expelled from the Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto, and ultimately never received a college degree. "I was too wild and talked too much in class... Not the most well-oiled cog in the school machine," the actor himself later admitted. We're used to thinking of Keanu as a melancholic and introverted person, but it turns out he was quite the rebel.
But Reeves turned out to be good at hockey. After all, he lived in Canada, where hockey is the national sport. But, as luck would have it, Keanu injured his knee during a practice, ending his hockey career forever. He was lucky in another way: one of Patricia's ex-husbands was theater producer Paul Aaron. He supported the boy with advice and even invited him to his musicals: thus, at the age of fifteen, Reeves received the role of Mercutio in the musical production of Romeo and Juliet.

Keanu appreciated this opportunity: "I liked Mercutio since childhood... because he was this idiot who sacrificed himself for the sake of others. That idea has always appealed to me..." Well, this is not his last role of this kind: Neo or Constantine can also be characterized in a similar way.

How he became famous

The actor said that when he was just starting his career, agents advised him to take a different name: Keanu, they said, sounded too "ethnic". So for some time he introduced himself as K.S. or Casey Reeves. It's hard to imagine now that we would know him by that name.
His first serious film work was the 1986 film "Young Blood" - the actor played a hockey goalie, where his sports experience came in handy. They became friends with Patrick Swayze, who played Keanu's teammate, and five years later they appeared on screen together again in the film Point Break.

Meanwhile, a string of youth films and comedies like Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure followed. Incidentally, it was from there that the famous shot that became the "Suspecting Keanu" meme came from, where he, as Ted, stands with his mouth open, amazed by something. The light and at the same time entertaining comedy was loved by the public, and its popularity gave rise to an even more successful sequel and a third part, which was released in 2020.
At the same time, the actor's portfolio was replenished with serious roles, such as Chevalier Danceny in Stephen Fierz's Dangerous Liaisons - where 24-year-old Keanu worked, just for a minute, with Uma Thurman, Glenn Close, John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer. The film won three Oscars and became an excellent springboard for the actor. His naive and noble Danceny, compared to the treacherous Marquise de Merteuil and the cynical Vicomte de Valmont, is a mere simpleton, worse than Mercutio; but perhaps it is precisely this simplicity and directness that helps him survive and even defeat evil.

These two works in diametrically opposed genres, released one after the other, outlined the capabilities of Keanu and truly made him famous. Another similar maneuver, which finally brought him to the top echelon of Hollywood: in 1991, Kathryn Bigelow's Point Break and Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho were released. What could be further apart: a successful action movie about a gang of surfers and an embedded agent from the creator of thrillers – and a surrealist-pensive road movie from the idol of American independent cinema. Both films, characteristically, became cult classics. What do FBI agent Johnny Utah and the "golden boy" Scott Favor have in common? Perhaps it is what Keanu himself gave these characters: a strange alienation, a sense of lostness?
Reeves's character in Bigelow's film is by definition an outsider; he has no place either among the defenders of order or among the free-spirited surfer bandits. Van Sant's Favor, whose prototype can be considered Shakespeare's Prince Hal, the future Henry V, is also separated from other mortals—by his status and wealth, by his fate. And yet, both are understandable and palpable in their strangeness. "Idaho" also blends with life, becoming one of the last films of Reeves's friend and colleague, River Phoenix. Phoenix's death in 1993 was the first great loss for Keanu.
In "Johnny Mnemonic" (1995), Keanu is again a simple guy who ultimately saves everyone. But "Mnemonic," a decent cyberpunk action film in its own right, is now seen as a test of strength before "The Matrix."

The title of the Chosen One has stuck with Reeves forever. And even the terrible, hackwork fourth part, "The Matrix: Resurrection," won't change that. Some people love all the parts from the first to the third, others only the original film, but "The Matrix" has definitely become one of the main Hollywood myths. And it's not just about the cool special effects, fiery action scenes, and well-thought-out world. This entire fantastical colossus is brought together by the central character.
Neo is the greatest hero of "The Matrix," and at the same time, anyone can say he is. Even his last name, Anderson, literally means "Son of Man." This is what Jesus called himself, but in the Bible it simply means "man, a representative of the human race." At various times, DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Nicolas Cage, and Will Smith—one could say almost every star actor of that generation—were considered for the role of Neo. But there is something significant in the fact that it was played by “one of our guys,” Keanu: it’s like a symbol of the fact that anyone can get out of the Matrix.

By the way, Keanu starred in the first film of the series having barely recovered from cervical spine surgery. He had difficulty moving, and this could have seriously hindered filming. But the persistence and hard work of the actor, who, despite everything, trained like hell, won out. So here, too, life mixed with art: "I know kung fu!" Although Neo does fewer kicks in "The Matrix" than planned.
In Francis Lawrence's "Constantine," filmed a couple of years after the third part of "The Matrix," Keanu's character again saves others at the cost of his own life, and at the same time deceives even the Devil himself (who was superbly played by Peter Stormare). Moreover, Reeves seems to have saved the film itself: initially, it was met with hostility from critics, but the years have strangely benefited the film, and today "Constantine" seems rather like a charming work, a dark comic book with a twisted plot and excellent casting.
And of course, we can't forget Keanu's last big role: John Wick. In the four films so far in the franchise, he's like an older, more stern version of Neo. He still loves and knows how to fight and is ready to crush anyone in his path. But the plot, where Wick loses his beloved dog, a gift from his late wife, is simultaneously so naively touching and at the same time seems to echo Reeves's personal drama. And now, behind the image of the bloodthirsty killer nicknamed "Baba Yaga," we can clearly see the same simple guy, beaten down by life and eternally sad - but never giving up. Without Keanu's participation, this film would most likely have been just a good action movie - but not a cult one.

What we know about Keanu in

There was a period in the actor's life when he acted much less frequently and generally faded into the shadows: in 1999, he and his girlfriend, actress Jennifer Syme, lost their newborn daughter. And six months after the release of The Matrix, Jennifer herself died in a car accident. In addition, in 2003, it turned out that one of Reeves's sisters, Kim, was diagnosed with leukemia. It is not surprising that Keanu fell into depression and began to abuse alcohol and drugs.
It cannot be said that he did not act at all, but these films were not commercially successful. In the summer of 2010, the actor left the set for lunch, bought a cup of coffee, a sandwich and sat down to have a snack on a bench in the park. Naturally, he was noticed and photographed. "Sad Keanu," looking dejectedly at the ground, entered the golden collection of memes.
Interestingly, Reeves himself insists that he was not sad at all at that moment: "Probably the biggest misconception people have about me is that they think I'm sad. I'm not. I'm just eating a sandwich on that bench during my break. People rarely radiate joy while eating sandwiches."
There are plenty of such stories about Keanu: here he is celebrating his forty-sixth birthday with random people, sitting on a New York parapet (which, of course, was also captured by photographers). And there he is giving up his seat to a lady on the subway, like a true British gentleman. After filming the second installment of "The Matrix," Keanu was so impressed with the stuntmen's work that he gave each of them a new Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Actress Octavia Spencer ("The Shape of Water") told how Reeves, already the star of "The Matrix", once helped her, a still unknown girl push a broken-down car. In March 2019, he did a favor for passengers on a flight that made an emergency landing, organizing a bus for them to get to their destination. At the presentation of the game Cyberpunk 2077, in which Reeves played rock star Johnny Silverhand, a fan from the audience shouted at him, "You're amazing." Reeves replied, "No, you're amazing," and coming from him, it sounded completely sincere.
Keanu doesn't get aged. He doesn't have any major awards like an Oscar, and no one calls him the greatest dramatic actor of our time—but that's not so important, because there's a special sincerity about him, a genuineness that doesn't depend on the quality of his performance. He spends his huge earnings on helping his loved ones and charity, voices cartoons and computer games, and plays bass guitar in his own band, Dogstar.
He recently co-wrote a science fiction novel with the famous British science fiction writer China Miéville. He is afraid of the dark and admits that he thinks about death a lot. He honestly said that he is lonely, but dreams of finding the love of his life and believes that it is possible. Perhaps his dream has already come true: since 2019, Reeves has been dating artist Alexandra Grant. We can only be happy for him.
It seems that Keanu Reeves really is simply a better person than many, unspoiled by fame. This means that we, looking at Keanu, have something to strive for. As Neo says at the end of The Matrix: "I will show you... a world without dictates and prohibitions, a world without borders. A world... where everything is possible. What happens next is up to you."

What to watch besides The Matrix and John Wick

IMDB RATING: 7.4
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1992
STARRING: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Waits

A classic horror film by Francis Ford Coppola, where a very young Keanu tries to cope with the terrible Gary Oldman with fangs and a trench coat.
IMDB RATING: 6.1
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1993
STARRING: Bridget Fonda, Chris Isaak

Bernardo Bertolucci's film about reincarnation. It was panned by the press, but Reeves' portrayal of another Chosen One, Gautama Buddha himself, earned mostly praise, even from Tibetan monks.
IMDB RATING: 7.3
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1994
STARRING: Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock

An inventive action film about a bus that won't stop. The film grossed well at the box office and won two Oscars—for best sound and best editing. Keanu also stars a very young Sandra Bullock. But Reeves flatly refused to star in the second part, which was supposed to take place on a steamship, considering the idea stupid.
IMDB RATING: 7.5
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1997
STARRING: Al Pacino, Charlize Theron

Another cult film, a horror thriller about a smug lawyer who encounters a special client. Keanu worked great here with Charlize Theron and with Al Pacino, whose Devil, of course, steals the show.
IMDB RATING: 7.0
YEAR OF RELEASE: 2006
STARRING: Winona Ryder, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson

Richard Linklater's experimental film based on Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name. A rotoscoped cartoon about a drug epidemic in the near future and a special agent trying to expose dealers. There are plenty of hallucinations, strange technologies, and Dick's signature atmosphere of paranoia.
IMDB RATING: 5.9
YEAR OF RELEASE: 2010
STARRING: Vera Farmiga, James Caan, Peter Stormare

An unexpected light comedy that combines a typical bank robbery plot with a production of Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard." Keanu, as we've already established, is no stranger to theater, and it really shines through here. It's not every day you see him in the role of Lopakhin.
IMDB RATING: 6.1
YEAR OF RELEASE: 2016
STARRING: Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks

A psychological thriller by Nicolas Winding Refn about the fashion industry and the desire for success at any cost. Reeves plays the lecherous motel owner Hank, an unusually loathsome character—a rare occurrence in the actor's filmography.
IMDB RATING: 4.3
YEAR OF RELEASE: 2018
STARRING: Molly Ringwald, Pavel Lychnikov

The original film is actually called "Siberia." It's basically John Wick, but set in the Siberian snows and with some interesting melancholic-lyrical overtones. It's as if it were a crossover with Alexander Rogozhkin's "Peculiarities." The film was criticized upon release, but oddly enough, there is something in it: Keanu looks surprisingly gloomy against the backdrop of the Russian outback, depressing towns and the endless taiga.