Keanu Reeves
☼ Born on 2 December 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon
Biography
Keanu Charles Reeves, whose first name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian, was born September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. He is the son of Patric Reeves, a showgirl and costume designer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves, a geologist. Keanu's father was born in Hawaii, of Native Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry while Keanu's mother is originally from Essex England. After his parents' marriage dissolved, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister, Kim Reeves, to New York City, then Toronto. Stepfather #1 was Paul Aaron, a stage and film director - he and Patricia divorced within a year, after which she went on to marry (and divorce) rock promoter Robert Miller. Reeves never reconnected with his biological father. In high school, Reeves was lukewarm toward academics but took a keen interest in ice hockey (as team goalie, he earned the nickname "The Wall") and drama. He eventually dropped out of school to pursue an acting career.
After a few stage gigs and a handful of made-for-TV movies, he scored a supporting role in the Rob Lowe hockey flick Youngblood (1986), which was filmed in Canada. Shortly after the production wrapped, Reeves packed his bags and headed for Hollywood. Reeves popped up on critics' radar with his performance in the dark adolescent drama, River's Edge (1986), and landed a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated Dangerous Liaisons (1988) with director Stephen Frears.
His first popular success was the role of totally rad dude Ted "Theodore" Logan in
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Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989). The wacky time-travel movie became something of a cultural phenomenon, and audiences would forever confuse Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart. He then joined the casts of Ron Howard's comedy, Parenthood (1989) and Lawrence Kasdan's I Love You to Death (1990).
Over the next few years, Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma with a series of highbrow projects. He played a slumming rich boy opposite River Phoenix's narcoleptic male hustler in My Own Private Idaho (1991), an unlucky lawyer who stumbles into the vampire's lair in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), and Shakespearean party-pooper Don John in Much Ado About Nothing (1993).
In 1994, the understated actor became a big-budget action star with the release of Speed (1994). Its success heralded an era of five years in which Reeves would alternate between small films, like Feeling Minnesota (1996) and The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997), and big films like A Walk in the Clouds (1995) and The Devil's Advocate (1997). (There were a couple misfires, too: Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and Chain Reaction (1996).) After all this, Reeves did the unthinkable and passed on the Speed sequel, but he struck box-office gold again a few years later with the Wachowski siblings' cyberadventure, The Matrix (1999).
Now a bonafide box-office star, Keanu would appear in a string of smaller films -- among them The Replacements (2000), The Watcher (2000), The Gift (2000), Sweet November (2001), and Hardball (2001) - before The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) were both released in 2003.
Since the end of The Matrix trilogy, Keanu has divided his time between mainstream and indie fare, landing hits with Something's Gotta Give (2003), The Lake House (2006), and Street Kings (2008). He's kept Matrix fans satiated with films such as Constantine (2005), A Scanner Darkly (2006), and The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008). And he's waded back into art-house territory with Ellie Parker (2005), Thumbsucker (2005), The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), and Henry's Crime (2010).
Most recently, as post-production on the samurai epic 47 Ronin (2013) waged on, Keanu appeared in front of the camera in Side by Side (2012), a documentary on celluloid and digital filmmaking, which he also produced. He also directed another Asian-influenced project, Man of Tai Chi (2013).
In 2014, Keanu played the title role in the action revenge film John Wick (2014), which became popular with critics and audiences alike. He reprised the role in John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), taking the now-iconic character to a better opening weekend and even more enthusiastic reviews than the first go-around.
In the role of actor
John Wick: Chapter 4 (23/03/2023)
The assassin’s hunt for revenge climaxes in John Wick: Chapter 4. After being betrayed by his friend Winston (Ian McShane) and left for dead in the care of the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne), John Wick (Keanu Reeves) recovers and continues his quest for vengeance against the High Table. The Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsg?rd) […]
The Matrix Resurrections (22/12/2021)
Neo and Trinity are found alive and well where it all began in The Matrix Resurrections. Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) is seemingly alive and well as an incredibly successful game designer, but he is plagued by dreams and deja vu when he encounters a woman named Tiffany (Carrie-Anne Moss) in a cafe. While he is […]
Bill & Ted Face the Music (05/09/2020)
The Wyld Stallyns go on one final time-traveling adventure in Bill & Ted Face the Music. It has been more than three decades since Bill S. Preston, Esq (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves) were prophecized to write a song that unites the world, however their band Wyle Stallyns has been on a […]
Sonic the Hedgehog (18/02/2020)
The Sega mascot heads to the big screen with Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic (Ben Schwartz) is a blue alien hedgehog, who is forced to leave his home planet since his superhuman ability to run at supersonic speeds makes him the target of those who want to take his power. Sonic has spent the last decade hiding […]
Toy Story 4 (23/06/2019)
Woody and Buzz come back for one more adventure in Toy Story 4. With Andy having gone to college, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and all the other toys have been left in the care of pre-schooler Bonnie. However, Woody no longer finds himself as the favourite toy, spending much of playtime in […]
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (20/05/2019)
The hunter becomes the hunted in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. After committing an unsanctioned killing in the New York City Continental, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is declared “excommunicado” and a $14 million bounty is placed on his head by the High Table, though the Continental’s manager Winston (Ian McShane) gives John an hour […]
John Wick: Chapter 2 (13/02/2017)
Lethal assassin John Wick is once again forced out of retirement in John Wick: Chapter 2. After tying up loose ends by recovering his stolen car from Russian gangster Abram Tarasov (Peter Stormare), John Wick (Keanu Reeves) prepares to once again retire from the life of an assassin. However, Wick is approached by Italian crime […]
The Bad Batch (14/09/2016)
A woman tries to survive in a dystopian desert prison in The Bad Batch. Arlen (Suki Waterhouse) is a young woman, who is sentenced to “The Bad Batch,” a gated Texas desert occupied by those considered outsiders to society. Nearly immediately, Arlen is captured by a gang of cannibals, who cut off her arm and […]
Demon (16/07/2016)
The review was originally published as part of my coverage of TIFF 2015 A groom gets possessed during his wedding day in Demon. Peter (Itay Tiran) is preparing to marry his fiance Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska) at her family’s country home in Poland. The night before the wedding, Peter finds skeletal remains on the property, after which he […]
The Neon Demon (17/06/2016)
A young model finds herself the envy of the fashion industry in The Neon Demon. Jesse (Elle Fanning) is a sixteen year old woman, who has just moved to Los Angeles with the hopes of starting a modeling career. At her first shoot, photographed by new acquaintance Dean (Karl Glusman), Jesse meets make-up artist Ruby (Jena […]
Demon (24/09/2015)
A groom gets possessed during his wedding day in Demon. Peter (Itay Tiran) is preparing to marry his fiance Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska) at her family’s country home in Poland. The night before the wedding, Peter finds skeletal remains on the property, after which he begins acting strangely during the wedding reception. It quickly becomes apparent that […]
The Gift (07/08/2015)
A married couple is stalked by an individual from the husband’s past in The Gift. Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a young married couple, who have just moved into a new house and are ready to begin starting a family. While shopping, Simon is reunited with Gordo (Joel Edgerton), an old acquaintance […]
Q&A: Alex Winter on Deep Web (03/07/2015)
The documentary Deep Web opens today at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. The film is directed by Alex Winter, who also directed the 2013 documentary Downloaded and is probably known by most for his acting role of Bill S. Preston Esq. in Bill and Ted‘s Excellent Adventure. Alex Winter took the time to answer a few questions about […]
John Wick (07/12/2014)
Keanu Reeves stars as the title character in this action revenge thriller. John Wick (Reeves) is a retired assassin, who has been out of the life for many years. Shortly after the death of his wife, things hit rock bottom for Wick when Iosef Tarasov (Alfie Allen), son of Wick’s old boss Viggo Tarasov (Michael […]
Man of Tai Chi (05/11/2013)
Keanu Reeves makes his directorial debut with the martial arts film Man of Tai Chi. Tiger Chen (Tiger Hu Chen) is a student of the Ling Kong Tai Chi style, whose unique method of using the, traditionally meditative, martial art for combat attracts the attention of the mysterious Donaka Mark (Reeves). Donaka uses his security […]
The Rep (23/05/2013)
In today’s world of the digital downloading and streaming, the concept of a repertory cinema probably sounds quite weird. It is a cinema, in which the sole purpose is to play old films that you have likely already seen. Most people would take a look at rep cinemas and ask “Why should I go this […]
TIFF10: The Last Two Days in Summary (17/09/2010)
Vera Farmiga and Keanu Reeves I was quite busy during the last couple of days and I did not have time to post reviews. Also such, I am going to post thoughts on all the films I saw during the last two days into one combined post. Henry’s Crime This film was a nice little […]
The Day the Earth Stood Still (14/12/2008)
This film probably had two stigmas going against it long before any trailers were released: one was the stigma against remakes and the other was the stigma against Keanu Reeves. I will first address the remake issue, since it is the most poignant. No matter what word is used to describe them (remake, reboot, reimagining, […]
In the role of director
Man of Tai Chi (05/11/2013)
Keanu Reeves makes his directorial debut with the martial arts film Man of Tai Chi. Tiger Chen (Tiger Hu Chen) is a student of the Ling Kong Tai Chi style, whose unique method of using the, traditionally meditative, martial art for combat attracts the attention of the mysterious Donaka Mark (Reeves). Donaka uses his security […]