A big star actor despite his unfortunate family background: Who is Keanu Reeves?

His full name is Keanu Charles Reeves, was born on September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. He was born the son of his father, costume designer Samuel Nowlin Reeves, and his mother, performer Patricia Taylor. His mother is of English descent; his father is an American citizen of Chinese and Hawaiian descent. When Reeves was three years old, his father abandoned his mother and family.

After divorcing with the Reeves family in 1966, they first moved to Sydney. He then moved to New York City when his mother married director Paul Aaron in 1970. After two years of marriage ended, the family moved to Toronto, Canada. Reeves' mother first married and divorced Robert Miller, a rock music promoter, and later a hairdresser named Jack Bond. Reeves and his sisters grew up in Toronto's Yorkville neighborhood with a nanny who took care of them.

Reeves attended four different high schools, including the art school he was kicked out of, and never graduated from any of them. Reeves has dyslexia and said he wasn't a good student because he had trouble reading. Despite this, he was a successful ice hockey goalie at De La Salle College. Reeves had dreams of becoming a professional ice hockey player but decided to become an actor at the age of 15.

He received a green card through his American stepfather and three years later decided to move to Los Angeles, United States. He starred in Brad Fraser's cult hit "Wolfboy" in Toronto. He was also featured in a Coca-Cola advertisement in 1983. Reeves also appeared in television movies such as NBC's "Babes in Toyland", "Act of Vengeance" and "Brotherhood of Justice" in 1986. He made his feature film debut with Peter Markle's sports drama film "Youngblood" (1986) about hockey and in which he played a goalkeeper, and the romantic drama film "Flying" (1986). In 1981, he got the role of Matt in "River's Edge," a crime drama about a group of high school friends dealing with a murder case. The film premiered to a largely positive response.

In the late 1980s, Reeves appeared in several drama films for younger audiences, including "The Night Before"(1988), a comedy with Lori Loughlin, "The Prince of Pennsylvania"(1988) and "Permanent Record"(1988). Although the second film received mixed reviews, Reeves' performance was praised. Another film he appeared in was a supporting role in the romantic comedy "Dangerous Liaisons" (1988). The film received seven nominations and three awards at the Academy Awards. He continued his career in the movie "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" (1989), in which he plays a sloth who travels back in time with his friend for a school assignment. The film received generally positive reviews. 

In 1990, Reeves had acting performances in two films. These; it was his role in the black comedy movie "I Love You to Death" and a comedy movie called "Tune in Tomorrow". He also appeared as James Dean in Paula Abdul's music video for Rush Rush in a drama film featuring the "Rebel Without a Cause" motif.

In 1991, Reeves re-starred with Alex Winter in "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey," the sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times praised the sequel's cast for their "full" performances. The remainder of 1991 was a pivotal point in Reeves' career as he took on more adult roles. He also co-starred with River Phoenix in the adventure drama movie "My Own Private Idaho" (1991). The movie was also successful at the box office. The New York Times praised Reeves and Phoenix's performances.

Also in 1991, Reeves starred in the action thriller "Point Break" (1991), directed by Kathryn Bigelow. To prepare for the movie, Reeves and his co-stars took lessons from a professional surfer. Upon its release, the film was generally well received and was a commercial success. Reeves' performance was acclaimed and won the 1992 Most Desirable Male award.

Interested in a musical career in 1991, Reeves formed an alternative rock band called "Dogstar", consisting of members Robert Mailhouse, Gregg Miller and Bret Domrose. Reeves played bass guitar in the band. A year later, he appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula," a Gothic horror film based on Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The film was critically and commercially successful. At the same time, the film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won three for Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing and Best Makeup. In addition, the film also earned four nominations at the British Academy Film Awards.

He acted in two drama films in 1993. These became "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" and "Little Buddha". He received mixed and negative reactions for both films. The following year, he starred in the action thriller "Speed" (1994) with Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper. The film was Dutch director Jan de Bont's directorial debut. For the movie, Reeves had to spend two months at the gym trimming all his hair and building muscle. The film and Reeves' performance were critically acclaimed. The film was a huge hit and won two Academy Awards in 1995.

Reeves' next lead role was in "Johnny Mnemonic," a 1995 cyberpunk action thriller directed by artist Robert Longo. The film received mainly negative reviews. He then starred in the romantic drama film "A Walk in the Clouds" (1995). But this one too received mixed and negative reviews. Reeves soon developed an interest in science fiction roles. And appeared in "Chain Reaction"(1996) with Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Fred Ward, Kevin Dunn and Brian Cox. The film was not a critical success and received mostly negative reviews. Reeves' movie choices after this movie were also critical disappointments.

He starred alongside Al Pacino and Charlize Theron in the 1997 supernatural horror film "The Devil's Advocate". Based on Andrew Neiderman's novel of the same name, the film received positive reviews from critics. In 1999, Reeves appeared in the critically acclaimed science fiction film "The Matrix," the first installment of The Matrix franchise. Written and directed by the Wachowskis, Reeves had to prepare by reading his ideas on evolutionary psychology. He went through months of intense training with a martial arts choreographer to prepare for fight scenes. The film proved to be a box office success and many critics considered it one of the best science fiction films of all time. The film also won four Academy Awards, including Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound.

The following year, Reeves starred in the hilarious sports comedy "The Replaces" (2000), the thriller "The Watcher" (2000), and the supernatural horror film "The Gift" (2000). In 2001, Reeves wanted to explore and accept roles in a variety of genres. The first was "Sweet November," a romantic drama, and the film was generally negatively received. "Hardball" (2001) was acclaimed for Reeves' attempt at another sports comedy.

In 2002, his professional music career ended with the disbandment of the Dogstar group. Reeves, who left the screens in 2002, returned in 2003 with "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" and the sequels of The Matrix series, respectively. The second film received mostly positive reviews. The movie was a high-grossing movie worldwide. The third movie received mixed reviews. Still, the movie grossed a healthy amount worldwide, albeit less than the previous two films.

In 2005, Reeves played the lead role in the superhero horror movie "Constantine." The film was a respectable box office success, grossing a standard worldwide for its initial budget, but met with mixed and positive reviews. Later, Reeves starred in the animated science fiction thriller "A Scanner Darkly" directed by Richard Linklater. Based on Philip K. Dick's novel of the same name, the film failed at the box office, but received generally positive reviews. His next role was in "The Lake House" (2006), a romantic drama adaptation of the South Korean movie Il Mare (2000).

Reeves' only screening in 2009 was in Rebecca Miller's romantic comedy drama "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee." In 2010, he starred in another romantic comedy, "Henry's Crime". The movie failed to break a box office record. More Reeves appeared in the critically acclaimed independent drama "Generation Um..."(2012).

In 2013, Reeves made his directorial debut in the martial arts film "Man of Tai Chi." The film was about a young man who is drawn to his multilingual dialogue and an underground fight club. The film received mixed reviews and was a commercial disappointment at the box office. After many commercial failures, Reeves' career picked up in 2014. He played the lead role in "John Wick," an action thriller directed by Chad Stahelski. The film proved to be a box office success with normal grossing worldwide.

Reeves starred in his performance in five films in 2016. The first was "Exposed", a detective thriller. The film received negative reviews due to its mixed plot. His next movie, "Keanu", an action comedy movie, was better received. Reeves later appeared in "The Neon Demon" and "The Bad Batch," a psychological horror film directed by Nicolas Winding Refn. The last broadcast of the year was "The Whole Truth" starring Gabriel Basso, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Renée Zellweger and Jim Belushi.

In 2017, Reeves agreed to reprise the role in "John Wick: Chapter 2," the sequel to the John Wick franchise. The film was a commercial success. Reeves reunited with Winona Ryder in "Destination Wedding" (2018), a comedy about wedding guests developing a mutual love for each other. Additionally, Reeves co-produced and starred in two thrillers. These; "Siberia"(2018) and "Replicas"(2018). Both films received mixed reviews.

Returning to the John Wick franchise, Reeves reprized his role in "John Wick: Chapter 3–Parabellum" (2019), the third film in the series directed by Stahelski. The movie achieved another box office hit. Reeves was nominated for Favorite Male Movie Star of 2019. 

As early as 2008, Reeves and Alex Winter began filming for a third Bill & Ted movie, but the project fell into development uncertainty. And in 2020, the third movie in the series "Bill & Ted Face the Music" was released. In December 2021, Reeves returned to the screen for "The Matrix Resurrections". The movie was a box office disappointment. The movie "John Wick: Chapter 4" from Lionsgate was released in March 2023. Reeves reprized his role as the lead role.

Reeves will reprise his role as Johnny Silverhand in the "Phantom Liberty."

Private life

In 1998, Reeves met Jennifer Syme at a party for his group Dogstar. The couple started a relationship. On December 24, 1999, Syme gave birth to her stillborn child, in the eighth month of her pregnancy. The couple broke up a few weeks after this incident, but later reconciled. However, on April 2, 2001, Syme died in a collision with three parked cars on Cahuenga Avenue in Los Angeles.

Reeves was also romantically involved with his long-time friend and filmmaker, Brenda Davis. Later in 2009, Reeves met Alexandra Grant at a dinner party. And they continued to collaborate on the two books together. Reeves and  Davis announced their relationship in November 2019.

Reeves was wary of his spiritual beliefs, saying it was something "personal and private." Due to his grandmother's ethnicity, he grew up with Chinese art, furniture, and cuisine. Reeves has only Canadian citizenship. The actor, who did not come to the fore with his private life, did not hide that he wanted to get married and have children in a statement. However, the death of the baby in the womb of the never-married actor while expecting a child from his lover, and then the death of his lover in a traffic accident caused another great pain for him.

This is the reason why Keanu Reeves, who has been struggling with troubles from an early age, does not value money. He is a famous but different man who frequently uses public transport, has good relations with the homeless, and takes care of his sister, who has leukemia. He also enjoys guitars, chess, ice hockey, table tennis and motorcycles. He worked as a volunteer in leukemia foundations and took part in aid campaigns.