Keanu Reeves

Profile
Name: Keanu Reeves
Birth Name: Keanu Charles Reeves
Height: 6' 1"
Sex: M
Nationality: Canadian
Birth Date: September 2, 1964
Birth Place: Beirut, Lebanon
Profession: actor, musician
Education: High School for the Performing Arts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
De La Salle College (dropped out)
Second City workshop in Toronto
Hedgerow Theatre in Media, PA.
Relationship: Carrie-Anne Moss (actress; dated in 1999), Jennifer Maria Syme (actress; born on December 7, 1972; died on April 2, 2001 at 6:20am, after her Jeep Cherokee crashed into a row of parked cars in Los Angeles)
Father: Samuel Nowlin Reeves (geologist)
Mother: Patricia (costume designer; divorced four times)
Sister: Kim Reeves (horse breeder; born in 1966)
Half Sister: Karina Miller (born in 1976; father: Robert Miller)
Step Father: Jack Bond (hair-salon owner; divorced in 1994), Robert Miller (rock promoter; married for five years), Paul Aaron (theater director; divorced after six months of marriage)
Claim to fame: as Ted Theodore Logan in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Biography
Keanu Charles Reeves was born September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon, to Samuel Nowlin Reeves (half-Hawaiian, half-Chinese) and Patric Taylor (English). After their divorce, Patric and Samuel went their separate ways. Keanu visited his father in Hawaii on occasion until he was thirteen. That was the last time Keanu saw him. Keanu attended Jesse Ketchum Public School in Toronto from kindergarten through the eighth grade, and attended four high schools (including De La Salle College and the Toronto School for the Performing Arts) before dropping out completely at age 17. Keanu took on lots of different jobs, including sharpening skates at an ice rink shop (he's an avid hockey player), landscaping, and making pasta (and managing the place to boot!). Then came some stage work (most notably - and notoriously - Wolfboy in 1984, his professional stage debut) and some bit parts on TV.

His motion picture debut was in Dream To Believe in Canada but it [reportedly] was the 1986 TV movie Under the Influence that earned him his SAG union card. Keanu's first big feature film debut in a US film was in Youngblood in which he had a small part. Keanu hit the road for Hollywood in 1986 with $3,000, an old Volvo, and his stepfather Paul Aaron's address. Keanu soon landed River's Edge, arguably one of his best roles ever. A string of movies followed (see CREDITS) as the troubled (or misfit) teen. His parts continued to grow, and then he started attracting the eye of more mainstream directors. He landed films like Dangerous Liaisons, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Much Ado About Nothing, and Little Buddha.

But it was 1994's Speed that really made everyone stand up and notice. Perhaps not so much for Keanu's acting, but the fact that this was his first mega-hit, grossing nearly $300 million at the box office (world-wide). Figures like that will catch the eye of any studio executive, and Keanu was soon reportedly being offered sums up to $7 million for his services. With Johnny Mnemonic and A Walk in the Clouds already in the can, those offers were put on hold or turned down so that Keanu could return to Canada and fulfill a dream of playing the title role in Hamlet on stage. Reviews were mixed, but in general reviewers were kind and some were enthusiastic.

More films followed: Feeling Minnesota, Chain Reaction and The Last Time I Committed Suicide, which did moderately at the box office. Keanu was then offered the lead in the sequel to Speed, entitled Speed II. But he felt the script was not good and he turned it down. Everyone accused Keanu of making a horrible mistake; and that he should have done the role. 20th Century Fox, not wishing to disclose the real reason Keanu turned it down (bad script), gave out a press release saying that Keanu turned it down so he could tour with his band, Dogstar. In fact, that was not true. Keanu was offered a better script (Devil's Advocate) and he filmed that at the same time as the disastrous Speed II was filmed. Devil's Advocate was a big hit and Speed II sunk at the box office. Suddenly critics were saying how smart Keanu was for turning down Speed II.

The it was off to Australia to film The Matrix. No one knew what to expect from this, and when it opened in the spring of 1999 it was a huge blockbuster, and brought Keanu back front and center in the public eye and catapulted him into the top ranks of money earners with an asking salary of $20 million per picture. In the summer of 1999 Keanu filmed The Replacements, and finished out the year with The Watcher. Both of those pictures were released in the year 2000. In 2000, Keanu went on to film three more films, The Gift, Sweet November, and Hardball including two sequels to The Matrix.

Filmography
* Stompanato (2007)
* The Night Watchman (2008)
* Fishing for Moonlight (2006)
* The Lake House (2006)
* A Scanner Darkly (2006)
* Constantine (2005)
* Thumbsucker (2005)
* The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
* Hard Ball (2001)
* The Replacements (2000)
* The Matrix (1999)
* Feeling Minnesota (1996)
* A Walk in the Clouds (1995)
* Speed (1994/I)
* Little Buddha (1993)
* Dracula (1992)
* Point Break (1991)
* The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988)
* Youngblood (1986)

Awards
2004 : World Stunt Awards ( Taurus Honorary Award)
2000 : Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (Favorite Actor-Action/Science)
2000 : Csapnivalo Awards (Best Actor in a Leading Role)
2000 : MTV Movie Award (Best Male Performance)
2000 : MTV Movie Award (Best Fight)
1995 : MTV Movie Award (Best On - Screen Duo)
1992 : MTV Movie Award (Most Desirable Male)

Trivia

Grazed a photographer with his car while pulling out of a parking space in a southern California community. The photographer was taken to a hospital by ambulance. Reeves was not injured. (March 19, 2007)

Was stopped by police at Los Angeles Airport after reportedly running a red light. (August 12, 2006)

A bed belonging to his former girlfriend is being auctioned on eBay. The seller, a friend of Keanu's girlfriend, hopes to raise money for her daughter's school fees. (July 25, 2006)

Denied reports he is engaged to actress Claire Forlani, insisting they're just good friends. (July 13, 2006)

Is desperate to get married and have kids because he can't bear to be on his own. (June 7, 2006)

Denies reports he secretly married his ex-girlfriend Autumn Macintosh in Los Angeles. (June 14, 2005)

Many scenes for IL MARE, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, will be filmed near Maple Lake. In addition to a $100,000 shooting fee, Warner Bros. Pictures agreed to pay for much of the $40,000 needed to stabilize the shoreline and pay for new wetland plantings that the Cook County Forest Preserve District already had planned. (April 19, 2005)

Found turning 40 so tough in 2004, saying it has been a time of reflection, which quickly escalated into morbid brooding about how many years he has left before he dies. (March 18, 2005)

The cast and crew of CONSTANTINE, including Reeves, gathered in sound stage 16 at Warner Bros' Hollywood lot to work on the spooky blockbuster, but were soon desperate to leave the building when paranormal activity started to arise. (March 18, 2005)

Said he trained with a real-life exorcist for his role in CONSTANTINE. (2005)

Gets the star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005.

Reeves and Sandra Bullock, stars of the 1994 mega-hit thriller SPEED, are set to team up again in a new romantic comedy called IL MARE, a remake of the Korean film SIWORAE. (January 20, 2005)

His 2003 movie THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS grossed a revolutionary $204 million worldwide through its first weekend, making it the biggest global film opening of all time. (November 10, 2003)

His movie THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS earned $24.3 million at the domestic box office in its first day of release. (November 7, 2003)

THE MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS, the third in the sci-fi trilogy starring Keanu Reeves, was launched November 5, 2003 in 80 countries.

Reeves turned down six gorgeous glamour models who offered to help him celebrate his 39th birthday, in favor of dining alone – The actor preferred his own company as he dined on pasta at Dan Tana's restaurant in Los Angeles on September 2, and Keanu didn't regret his decision to ignore the bevy of beauties. (September 16, 2003)

Reeves’ THE MATRIX RELOADED has been officially banned in Egypt on religious grounds -- Madkour Thabit, the head of Egypt's answer to the BBFC said, Despite the high technology and fabulous effects of the movie, it explicitly handles the issue of existence and creation, which are related to the three divine religions, which we all respect and believe in. (June 12, 2003)

His role as Neo in the two Matrix sequels makes Reeves the highest paid actor in Hollywood as he commands a staggering $206 million for the movies. (June 2, 2003)

Reeves, who reprises his role as Neo in THE MATRIX RELOADED, admits it was a mistake for him to speak out about the stunts he was able to take on in the pre-quel, because fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping and director brothers Andy and Larry Wachowski decided to work him even harder. (May 13, 2003)

Reeves is maintaining a bedside vigil for his sister Kim as she battles deadly leukemia -- the actor abandoned the set of the new MATRIX sequel when he discovered his sister had worsened, then whisked her off to a luxury resort in Hawaii so he can make her final days as comfortable as possible. (December 28, 2002)

Keanu (pronounced key-an-noo) means cool breeze over the mountains in Hawaiian

Keanu described himself as a middle-class white boy. A bourgeois, middle-class white boy with an absent father, a strong-willed mother, and two beautiful younger sisters.

Keanu took on lots of different jobs, including sharpening skates at an ice rink shop, landscaping, and making pasta.

(1995) was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.

(October 1997) He was ranked #23 in Empire (UK) magazine's The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list.

He loves Ballroom dancing.

His step-father, Paul Aaron is a film and stage Director.

Keanu is afraid of the dark.

He was nicknamed the wall by high school hockey team (La Salle).

(1995) He was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#17).

(2 April 2001) His estranged girlfriend Jennifer Syme was killed when her Jeep Cherokee careened onto the wrong side of a Los Angeles road near Highway 101 and smashed into three parked cars. The force of the crash flipped the car over and she was thrown through the windshield. She was killed instantly.

He has appeared in 3 movies whose title contains a US state: FEELING MINNESOTA, MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO and THE PRINCE OF PENNSYLVANIA.

(November 4th, 2001) was considered one of the 25 sexiest men in entertainment according to the poll made by E! #11

For his role as an FBI rookie in POINT BREAK (1991), he studied with FBI agents, police and athletes.

When he arrived in LA, he only had $3000 and an old Volvo. He drove from Toronto, Canada, to Los Angeles. (1986)

When he was a child, he loved to play with toy trucks and wanted to be: an inventor, nuclear physicist, orchestra conductor and a racecar driver.

He was voted as the Hollywood male star most wanted to be on a desert island with (USA) and came second place in Argentina, Venezuela, England, France, Brazil and China. (November 11, 2001)

He admits that always reads reviews, he can't avoid it

Has placed his faith in ancient Buddhist practices in a desperate bid to end his bad luck.

Was forced into starring in THE WATCHER- because his friend signed the contact for him.

In FOXES (1980) you can see him as an extra; it's he who throws the football during the house party.

In BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (1989) originally, Alex Winter, auditioned for the role of Ted and Keanu Reeves auditioned for the role of Bill.

During filming of THE REPLACEMENTS (2000), Reeves was offered a tryout with the Baltimore Ravens

He gained 23 pounds for his role as quarterback Shane Falco in THE REPLACEMENTS.

Reeves plays a former quarterback from Ohio State. In POINT BREAK (1991), Reeves's character was also a former quarterback from Ohio State.

Keanu is the bass guitarist for the rock band Dogstar. He taught himself how to play after taking only one formal guitar lesson.

The scar on his stomach is from a motorcycle accident, and they had to remove his spleen.

Nominated for Best Kiss at MTV Movie Awards for THE MATRIX RELOADED (2004) - shared with Monica Bellucci

Nominated for Best Fight at MTV Movie Awards for THE MATRIX RELOADED (2004) - shared with Hugo Weaving

Nominated for Best On-Screen Duo at MTV Movie Awards for THE MATRIX (2000) - shared with Laurence Fishburne

Nominated for Best Kiss at MTV Movie Awards for A WALK IN THE CLOUDS (1996) - shared with Aitana Sánchez-Gijón

Nominated for Most Desirable Male at MTV Movie Awards (1996)

Nominated for Best Kiss at MTV Movie Awards for SPEED (1995) - shared with Sandra Bullock

Nominated for Best Male Performance at MTV Movie Awards for SPEED (1995)

Nominated for Most Desirable Male at MTV Movie Awards for SPEED (1995)