Keanu Reeves Biography

Keanu Charles Reeves (September 2, 1964) Born in Beirut, Lebanon. Lebanese-born American actor and director. Known for his performances in The Matrix (1999-2003) and John Wick (2014). He studied at Toronto’s High School For The Performing Arts and was part of The Second City theater company.

He began on television with the series Going Great (1982) and Hangin ‘In (1984) and made his film debut with Robert Fortier’s One Step Away (1985). In 1986, he made his Hollywood debut in the film Youngblood and in 1991 he rose to fame with My Private Idaho, a drama in which he worked with James Russo. This was followed by major productions such as The Matrix (1999-2003), Maximum Speed ​​(1994), Constantine (2005), The Lake House (2006), John Wick (2014), and The Dark Side of Desire (2015). Reeves is currently considered one of the most versatile actors on the big screen.

Early life

Keanu is the son of British designer Patricia Taylor and Hawaiian geologist Samuel Nowlin Reeves. Despite being born in Lebanon, Reeves grew up in Canada and the United States. His father left the family when he was only two years old; soon after his parents’ divorce, he lived with different father figures such as theater director Paul Aaron and manager Robert Miller. Back then, Reeves and his mother were constantly shifting from one location to another between the United States and Canada.

As a child, he played hockey and participated in plays. Interested primarily in the performing arts, he studied acting at the prestigious Toronto’s High School For The Performing Arts and soon after joined The Second City theater company. With this, he gained experience, participating in numerous theatrical productions. Already in the 80s, he would take his first steps in the world of television, appearing in series such as Going Great (1982), Hangin ‘In (1984), Night Heat (1985) and Comedy Factory (1985). That same year, he made his Canadian film debut with One Step Away (1985), by Robert Fortier, a drama in which he starred with Diana Belshaw and Kathleen Fee.

Career

Determined to reach a new level in his career, he moved to Los Angeles, where shortly thereafter he shot his first Hollywood film Youngblood (1986). Peter Markle’s drama in which he shared credits with Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze. That same year, he was seen in the telefilms Act of Vengeance, The Brotherhood of Justice and Under the Influence. He also worked on Disneyland and Flying, a drama in which he shared credits with Olivia d ’Abo. By the end of the 80s, he would begin to gain recognition playing important roles such as Chevalier Danceny in Dangerous Relationships (1988)

and Ted Logan in Bill and Ted (1989).

Having gained recognition in the 1980s, Reeves managed to establish himself on the Hollywood scene with the films Love you to death (1990) by Lawrence Kasdan and Pointbreak (1991) by Kathryn Bigelow. That same year he rose to fame playing the role of Scott Favor in My Private Idaho (1991), a Gus Van Sant drama in which he shared the scene with James Russo and his friend River Phoenix. Over this decade he would work on numerous commercial successes such as Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), by Francis Ford Coppola, and Jan de Bont’s Maximum Speed ​​(1994), sharing the latter role with Sandra Bullock.

The Matrix success

At the end of the 90s, he would play Neo in Matrix (1999), a science fiction film that marked a before and after in the young actor’s career since, from that moment, Reeves became one of the most sought-after actors on the Hollywood scene.

After replaying Neo in The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Reeves starred in Constantine (2005), a Francis Lawrence action thriller that was inspired by the DC comic Hellblazer and featured performances by Rachel Weisz, Tilda Swinton, and Pruitt Taylor Vince. Later, he worked with Sandra Bullock in The Lake House (2006) and with Winona Ryder in A scanner darkly (2006)

. He was seen often in Street Kings(2008) and The Day that Earth Stood Still (2008), a remake of the Robert Wise film.

In 2013, he starred in the fantasy film about Ako’s loyal ronins, 47 Ronin, and directed his first feature film Man of Tai Chi.

John Wick saga

A year later, he first played hitman John Wick in the saga of the same name. Currently, this saga has three installments: John Wick (2014), John Wick: Pacto De Sangre (2017) and John Wick – Chapter 3: Parabellum (2019).

Keanu Reeves also acted in The Neon Demon (2016), Siberia (2018), and the series Swedish Dicks (2016-18). He is currently recording Bill & Ted Face the Music, John Wick: Chapter 4 and Past Midnight.

Personal life

After almost two decades of singleness, Revees made public his relationship with visual artist Alexandra Grant on November 6, 2019, at the LACMA Art + Film Gala to which he was accompanied by the artist. It is worth mentioning that Reeves had a difficult time in 1999, the year in which his then-girlfriend Jennifer Syme gave birth to his daughter, Ava, who was born dead. The pain caused by the loss led to Syme and Reeves parting ways, despite their love for each other. Two years later, Syme died in a traffic accident, a fact that deeply affected the actor; since then no partner has been known to him.