1 Keanu Reeves’ Birth and Family Background
Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1964. His father, an American from Hawaii, has Native Hawaiian, Chinese, English, and Portuguese ancestry. While working in Beirut, Reeves’ mother met his father. However, when he was three years old, his father abandoned the family.
2. Keanu Reeves’ first name, Keanu, is Hawaiian, meaning “cool breeze over the mountains.” However, he almost adopted the stage name “Chuck Spadina” at his agent’s request when he first started in Hollywood.
3. Keanu Reeves’ mother, Patricia (née Taylor), designed costumes for several famous figures, including Dolly Parton.
4. Thanks to his mother’s Hollywood connections as a costume designer, Keanu Reeves once had Alice Cooper as his babysitter.
5. After divorcing Keanu Reeves’ father in 1966, his mother moved the family to Sydney and then to New York City, where she married Broadway and Hollywood director Paul Aaron in 1970. They relocated to Toronto before divorcing in 1971. Reeves, who then grew up in Canada, attended four high schools and had three stepfathers.
6 Keanu’s Ice Hockey Career and Injury
Keanu Reeves earned the nickname “The Wall” for his impressive skills as an ice hockey goalkeeper while in college. He dreamed of playing hockey for Canada, but an injury ended his career aspirations.
7. Keanu Reeves got his abdominal scar from a nighttime motorcycle crash in Topanga Canyon, where he collided with a mountain. The accident left him with broken ribs and a ruptured spleen. To top it off, a paramedic trainee accidentally dropped his stretcher, making him laugh despite the pain.
8. Keanu Reeves was the last choice for the role of Neo in The Matrix. Brad Pitt initially accepted but later declined. Leonardo DiCaprio also accepted and then passed. Other actors considered for the role included Will Smith, Nicolas Cage, Sandra Bullock, Johnny Depp, Kevin Costner, David Duchovny, and Tom Cruise.
9. In preparation for The Matrix, Keanu Reeves trained in karate for four months. For Matrix Reloaded, he mastered over 200 martial arts moves and later learned Judo and Jiu-Jitsu for John Wick.
10. Just a few months before filming The Matrix, Keanu Reeves underwent surgery for a two-level cervical spine fusion, which had slowly been paralyzing his legs. As a result, he avoided kicking scenes in the film.
11 Keanu Reeves Played in Band Dogstar
Keanu Reeves was part of the alternative rock band Dogstar, which began after he met Robert Mailhouse at a supermarket. They started talking about hockey, and Keanu asked if Mailhouse needed a goalie.
12. Keanu Reeves earned $156 million from The Matrix trilogy, mostly through profit participation deals.
13. Johnny Depp indirectly contributed to Keanu Reeves’ rise to fame by passing on the lead roles in Speed and The Matrix, both of which went to Reeves.
14. Keanu Reeves surprised all 12 of Hugo Weaving’s stunt doubles on “The Matrix Reloaded” by gifting them custom Harley Davidson motorcycles after wrapping up the big fight scene.
15. Keanu Reeves donated $80 million of his $156 million Matrix earnings to the special effects and makeup teams.
16 Keanu’s Tragic Relationship with Jennifer Syme
Keanu Reeves once dated Jennifer Syme, who gave birth to their stillborn child (Keanu’s only child). Sadly, she died in a car crash a year later, at the age of 28, while returning from a party at the home of Marilyn Manson. Syme’s parents later sued Marilyn Manson, blaming him for her wrongful death.
17. Keanu Reeves was pressured into starring in The Watcher after his friend, Joe Charbanic, who directed the film, forged his signature on the contract. Rather than engage in a lengthy legal dispute, Reeves went ahead with the role, but the movie became one of his most critically panned.
18. When River Phoenix’s agents wouldn’t show him the script for My Own Private Idaho, Keanu Reeves rode his motorcycle from Canada to Florida to personally deliver it to him.
19. In 2010, a woman filed a paternity suit against Keanu Reeves, claiming he hypnotized her and disguised himself as her ex-husband to impregnate her.
20. Keanu Reeves’ film 47 Ronin was one of the biggest box office flops in history, losing over $149 million and putting Universal in financial trouble in 2013.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 Keanu Chose Hamlet Over Speed 2
Keanu Reeves was initially offered Val Kilmer’s role in the 1995 film Heat, but he declined this role to play Hamlet in a 789-seat theater in Manitoba. He also turned down $12 million for Speed 2 to tour with his band and star in a 1995 production of Hamlet at the Manitoba Theatre Centre.
22. Keanu Reeves is a classically trained ballroom dancer.
23. Keanu Reeves often takes a pay cut to allow producers to hire other notable actors. For “The Devil’s Advocate,” he reduced his salary by a few million dollars to afford Al Pacino, and he did the same in “The Replacements” to work with Gene Hackman.
24. 20th Century Fox blacklisted Keanu Reeves for ten years after he turned down $12 million to star in Speed 2: Cruise Control.
25. Ben Stiller originally wanted Keanu Reeves to play Tug Speedman in Tropic Thunder, while Stiller planned to play Rick Peck, the role Matthew McConaughey eventually took.
RE: Fact #31 (Keanu’s Response to Sad Meme Photo) – It’s kind of annoying that the article doesn’t even have the picture it’s about. Come on, BBC, that’s pretty basic!
RE: Fact #29 (Keanumycin: Fungicide Named After Keanu) – Johnny Silverhand is definitely one of his best roles, his voice is just spot-on.
RE: Fact #10 (Keanu’s Spine Surgery Before The Matrix) – Poor Keanu, has anything ever gone right for him?
RE: Fact #20 (47 Ronin: A Box Office Flop) – I was one of those people they test movies on, you know, the ones at the mall with the clipboards who pay you a few bucks? My kid, who was 8 at the time, and I saw the trailer and thought it looked awesome. We even said we’d totally see it in theaters on the survey. But guess what? We never did. Sorry Universal!
That’s seriously messed up. You actually made people lose their jobs.
Some dads had to tell their kids that Christmas was canceled because of you.
You guys are heartless.
Chill out, Phil.
RE: Fact #17 (Keanu Forced to Star in The Watcher) – Come on, that’s a total crock. Sounds like a story he’d tell on a talk show to make people laugh and explain why he was in a bad movie, but it doesn’t sound real.
First of all, where was his agent? They would have been the ones who negotiated the contract with the studio, not some “friend.” Why would the producers even think the contract was real?
So, does this mean if I can fake Reeves’ signature on a contract, he’ll be in my student film?
Yeah, that’s totally something he’d do. Get a bunch of lawyers and throw someone in jail, or just make the movie, you know? He’s not exactly known for having a big head or being mean. I actually believe it.
RE: Fact #20 (47 Ronin: A Box Office Flop) – I thought it was interesting that they blamed the studio. Apparently, Keanu wasn’t even supposed to be the main guy! The studio basically forced them to spend an extra $50 million on reshoots and then they messed with the whole thing, adding a cheesy love story and making it all about Keanu. That’s just classic producers doing what they do best – ruining a good thing!
The movie had potential, but they threw a ton of money at it and then kept butting in until it was a disaster.
RE: Fact #25 (Ben Stiller Wanted Keanu in Tropic Thunder) – It’s like, you could switch any of them around and it wouldn’t really matter, but Tom Cruise as Les Grossman was just perfect. I can’t imagine anyone else being that hilarious in that part.
RE: Fact #8 (Keanu Was Last Choice for Neo) – Sandra Bullock was in *The Net*, a movie about hacking, which came out right before they were casting *The Matrix*. So it makes sense they thought of her. They probably figured since *The Net* did pretty well, people would be okay with her playing a hacker.
I wonder if Keanu got the part because of Johnny Mnemonic, that sci-fi action movie with him in a shiny black suit that came out like four years earlier.
Funny thing is, the Wikipedia summary for that movie starts with:
“In 2021, society is deeply engaged in a virtual Internet, which has a degenerative effect referred to as ‘nerve attenuation syndrome’, or NAS. Another major issue is the takeover of society by large corporations…”
Those scenes with her and Carrie-Ann Moss would have been awesome!
I was wondering, like, wouldn’t it have been easier to just keep the script exactly the same? They don’t even talk about having kids or a “prodigal son” or anything, so they could have just copied and pasted the whole thing!
And oh my gosh, would it have been epic for us teens back in the day!
It’d be cool to see Sandra Bullock in that early Matrix scene with the guy in the red Speedo.
RE: Fact #7 (Keanu’s Scar from Motorcycle Accident) – Keanu got that scar on his stomach from a bad motorcycle crash in Topanga Canyon. He was on a crazy ride when he slammed into the side of a mountain. They had to keep him in the hospital for a week because he had broken ribs and a ruptured spleen.
That’s pretty irresponsible, huh?
Seriously, I love Keanu, but it’s good he didn’t hurt anyone doing that.
We weren’t exactly Einsteins back then.
RE: Fact #30 (Keanu Has Never Won Major Awards) – Yeah.
I’m alright at acting, I guess.
Whoa!
RE: Fact #23 (Keanu Took Pay Cuts for Co-Stars) – Pretty smart move, right? He took his time and built his reputation by working with people he probably wouldn’t have otherwise.
RE: Fact #19 (Woman Filed Paternity Suit Against Keanu) – That DNA test proves Keanu Reeves isn’t the dad, so the judge threw out the case. The woman claiming he’s the father wanted a ton of money – $3 million a month in support! Totally crazy.
Yeah, the judge tossed it out. Turns out, it was Keanu Reeves in a wig!
RE: Fact #6 (Keanu’s Ice Hockey Career and Injury) – The Wikipedia article makes him sound like he was really good in high school, but I guess a lot of people are at that level and dream of playing for their country. Still, I found it pretty interesting to read about his different backgrounds and how he grew up.
RE: Fact #30 (Keanu Has Never Won Major Awards) – He’s not the best actor, but he’s a cool dude with some really iconic roles.
EXXXXXXCELLLLLENT!
He’s not the best actor, but he’s a total badass when it comes to doing his own stunts. Tom Cruise is kind of the same, but then I saw Eyes Wide Shut and Kubrick really got something out of him. That guy can act when he wants to.
RE: Fact #9 (Keanu’s Martial Arts Training for Films) – Yeah, right. Like he hasn’t been around forever.
I’m curious how long it’ll take before he either admits he’s immortal or just disappears without a trace.
He was in a motorcycle crash, and they couldn’t even tell it was him.
RE: Fact #5 (Keanu’s Moves and Multiple Step-Fathers) – He had three stepfathers… he used a pencil on the first two.
RE: Fact #21 (Keanu Chose Hamlet Over Speed 2) – Honestly, Val Kilmer totally owned that role. I just can’t see Keanu pulling it off like that back then. He was too young and, well, just didn’t have that edge.
RE: Fact #11 (Keanu Reeves Played in Band Dogstar) – I read somewhere that Dogstar was why Keanu didn’t do Speed 2. But honestly, watching Speed 2, I’m sure that was only a small part of it.
RE: Fact #29 (Keanumycin: Fungicide Named After Keanu) – I’m a big fan of his movies and I like him, but I’ve never gotten how he’s been so successful with his acting. He’s great in action scenes, but when he has to speak, he sounds like a robot.
RE: Fact #6 (Keanu’s Ice Hockey Career and Injury) – Every young goalie gets called “The Wall,” even if they’re not that good. It’s the most basic nickname in hockey.
RE: Fact #22 (Keanu is a Ballroom Dance Expert) – Combat ballroom dancing is gonna be huge. You heard it here first.
RE: Fact #8 (Keanu Was Last Choice for Neo) – That’s wild! Turns out Indiana Jones was supposed to be Tom Selleck at first. I love learning stuff like that. Keanu Reeves is the only one who could ever play Neo, and Harrison Ford is the only real Indiana Jones, in my opinion.
Did you know that Chip and Dale from Rescue Rangers were dressed up as Indiana Jones and Magnum PI? That’s funny because both of those characters are connected to Tom Selleck!
That guy’s got a killer mustache!
RE: Fact #8 (Keanu Was Last Choice for Neo) – Will Smith passed this role to do the Wild Wild West.
I’m so grateful for that, can you imagine life without the wild west?
Jim West – a real gunslinger, always on the move.
Can you imagine the Matrix rap that would’ve been playing during the end credits if he’d stuck with it?
I’m Neo, the hero.
So what’s your best shot?
Thousands of bullets,
But I’m still standing.
RE: Fact #30 (Keanu Has Never Won Major Awards) – I’m a big fan of Keanu, but he can be a little stiff in his acting.
He’s usually paired up with some amazing actors, which makes sense. Like:
Matrix: Lawrence Fishburne
Speed: Sandra Bullock
Devil’s Advocate: Al Pacino and Charlize Theron
The Replacements: Gene Hackman
Sweet November: Charlize Theron
Something’s Gotta Give: Diane Keaton
The Lake House: Sandra Bullock
John Wick: Ian McShane and Lance Reddick
John Wick 2: Lawrence Fishburne
John Wick 3: Anjelica Huston and Halle Berry
John Wick 4: too many to list
I used to think he was getting carried by these awesome actors, but the more I watch his movies the more I think his style lets those other actors shine really bright. He’s like the straight man in a comedy routine – he sets things up and they knock it out of the park. It’s more about working together than competing. That kind of chemistry makes for incredible scenes and great performances.
And he’s just a genuinely good guy – you can’t help but like him.
He was totally perfect for Neo, haha.
RE: Fact #6 (Keanu’s Ice Hockey Career and Injury) – Have you seen The Matrix? To him, the pucks would be moving in slow motion.
RE: Fact #24 (Keanu Blacklisted for Refusing Speed 2) – Reeves says he got the cold shoulder from 20th Century Fox for ten years after he passed on Speed 2, until he made The Day the Earth Stood Still.
They iced him out until he blew up, then came crawling back wanting him to do another film because he was making them money?
They have their beliefs, but money talks.
RE: Fact #4 (Alice Cooper Babysat Keanu Reeves) – It seems like a lot of famous people either come from famous families or have been connected to other famous people their whole lives.
RE: Fact #4 (Alice Cooper Babysat Keanu Reeves) – We only call people nepo babies when it’s not someone famous like Keanu, huh?
RE: Fact #19 (Woman Filed Paternity Suit Against Keanu) – Classic Keanu
Seriously, what a creep.
Apparently he thinks he can just hit on other people’s wives. 🙄
RE: Fact #20 (47 Ronin: A Box Office Flop) – Universal’s only in the red the way Hollywood does their books. They make deals where writers and stars get more money if the movie makes more, so the studios do everything they can to make it look like the movies didn’t make money. It’s common knowledge that even huge hits like Lord of the Rings are reported as losing money. It’s all just a big joke.
RE: Fact #23 (Keanu Took Pay Cuts for Co-Stars) – Dude, working on his PR team has to be a breeze.
“So, what’s on the agenda today?”
“I dunno, what did Keanu get up to this weekend?”
“He gave up his seat on the bus to a pregnant woman, someone even filmed it.”
“Sweet, that’s lunch sorted then?”
They all rode to lunch on the motorcycles Keanu had made for them.
RE: Fact #14 (Keanu Gifted Harley Bikes to Stunt Doubles) – They totally need to form a motorcycle gang. Just picture this: you’re cruising down a desert highway, and BAM! Twelve guys on Harleys zoom by, all looking like Hugo Weaving.
RE: Fact #7 (Keanu’s Scar from Motorcycle Accident) – He probably got that when Smith poked him with his fingers.
RE: Fact #31 (Keanu’s Response to Sad Meme Photo) – Man, I just learned Keanu’s girlfriend and baby daughter passed away…
Makes me think of JOHN WICK in a whole new way.
RE: Fact #14 (Keanu Gifted Harley Bikes to Stunt Doubles) – Keanu’s amazing, right? He’s so down-to-earth and grateful. It’s like he doesn’t want people to talk about how awesome he is because he thinks it takes away from it.
He’d probably fix the world if he could, but he’d do it without anyone knowing.
We should all try to be a little more like him.
RE: Fact #17 (Keanu Forced to Star in The Watcher) – Reeves said his friend tricked him into being in the movie by forging his signature on the contract. He didn’t want to fight it in court, so he agreed to be in the movie, but only if he didn’t have to do any promoting.
“I couldn’t prove it and I didn’t want to get sued, so I had no other choice,” Reeves said. He never complained about the movie, even after the year was up.
This is crazy. They just need one person to say he signed it. I don’t buy it.
Apparently, his role was supposed to be a small part, but it ended up being a big one, and he was still getting paid the same as everyone else. I bet that’s what really bothered him.
His buddy ripped someone off, but if he snitched, he’d be in hot water.
Wouldn’t it be the contract holder’s responsibility? I mean, people usually talk things through before signing, right? His agent and the casting agency would have discussed it, so they could back it up. Seems like Keanu just wanted to avoid all the hassle of going to court.
RE: Fact #18 (Keanu Delivered Script to River Phoenix) – Keanu’s seriously the most interesting guy out there, I think.
Let’s find out what kind of beer he likes.
Local craft beer, only.
RE: Fact #27 (John Wick Director Was Keanu’s Stunt Double) – So, Chad Stahelski was working on a show called “The Pretender,” and his boss was like, “Hey, you kinda look like Keanu Reeves!” He knew Chad did all that martial arts stuff, so he said, “There’s an audition for something in Burbank, why don’t you go check it out when you’re done here?”
Turned out, the audition was for “The Matrix,” and Stahelski ended up doing a lot of stunt work for Reeves in movies like “Constantine,” “The Gift,” and “The Replacement.” He also coordinated the stunts for Reeves’s first movie as a director, “Man of Tai Chi.” Then Reeves paid him back by starring in Stahelski’s first movie as a director, “John Wick.”
You know, I think Keanu Reeves is a total legend. Him and Tom Hanks are my two favorite actors.
Man, it’s been ages since I thought about The Pretender. Loved that show back in the day!
Keanu Reeves is practically immortal, and hopefully he’ll keep acting forever.