Keanu Charles Reeves (born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian-English Hollywood actor & musician (bassist) who also has citizenship in the USA. He is perhaps best known for his role as Neo in the action film trilogy The Matrix and also for roles in Speed and comedies such as Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. He was also a member of a grunge band, Dogstar, during the 1990s, as a bassist.

Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon to Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., an American geologist, and Patricia Taylor, an English showgirl and costume designer who was working in Beirut when she met Reeves' father at a local nightclub.

His paternal grandfather, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, was born in Hawaii to Charles Armistead Reeves, a Tennessee-born Irish American, and Rose Lokalia Miguel, who was of Portuguese and Hawaiian descent. His paternal grandmother, Sarah M. Victor, was of part Chinese descent. The name "Keanu" means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian. Reeves was named after his uncle Henry Keanu Reeves, and the name is a short form of the name of Reeves' great-great uncle Keaweaheulu.

When Reeves first arrived in Hollywood, his agent thought his first name was too exotic, so during the early days of his film career he is sometimes credited as K.C. Reeves, Norman Kreeves or Chuck Spadina.

Reeves has a sister, Kim (born 1966 in Beirut, Lebanon), a half-sister named Karina Miller (born 1976 in Toronto, Canada) and another half-sister named Emma Rose Reeves (born 1980 in Hawaii). Kim Reeves is a devoted horse breeder, as well as an actress. She presently lives in Anacapri, in the north of the island of Capri.

His parents divorced in 1966; his mother, along with him, left for New York City in 1969, where she met and subsequently married Paul Aaron, a Broadway and Hollywood director. The couple, who divorced in 1971, moved to Toronto, Canada, where Reeves grew up. Reeves' mother was later married to Robert Miller (between 1976 and 1980, and from whom he has a half-sister, Karina) and Jack Bond. Reeves grew up in Toronto, and as such he has dual Canadian and British citizenship. He worked at a pasta shop, sharpened skates at an ice rink, and was voted MVP on his high school ice hockey team. Within a span of five years, Reeves attended four different high schools in total, including a performing-arts school from which he was expelled. Reeves began his acting career at the age of 15, appearing in a stage production at a local Jewish community center. After leaving the Catholic boys' high school where he played hockey, he attended a free school which allowed him to obtain an education while working as an actor. He later dropped out, never obtaining his high school diploma.

Career

Reeves made his screen acting debut in Canada, in a 1979 CBC production, Hanging In. Throughout the early 1980s, he appeared in commercials (including one for Coca-Cola), short films and stage work in Toronto. His first studio movie appearance was in the Rob Lowe hockey flick Youngblood which was filmed in Canada. In it he played a Hockey goalie. Shortly after the movie release Reeves obtained a green card and drove from Toronto to Los Angeles in his 1969 Volvo. His ex-stepfather Paul Aaron, a stage and television director gave him a place to stay and got him a manager, Erwin Stoff, and agent before he even arrived in LA.

After a few minor roles gained the notice of the critics in 1986's River's Edge, a teenage drama which received positive reviews. Following the film's success, he spent the late 1980s appearing in a number of movies aimed at teenage audiences, including Permanent Record, a dark film about teenage suicide, and the successful 1989 comedy, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, which typecast Reeves somewhat during the next few years, as much of his subsequent portrayal in the press has been influenced by his portrayal of the comically airheaded character, "Ted". Reeves was originally offered the role of Pvt. Chris Taylor in Platoon (1986) but turned it down as he disliked the violence involved and the role went to Charlie Sheen.

During the early 1990s, Reeves appeared in both high-budget action films like Point Break and lower-budget independent films, including the well-received 1991 film, My Own Private Idaho, and the critically-hated 1994 film, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. In 1994, Reeves also starred in the action film Speed, which was a commercial success and raised his profile, leading to his casting in films like Johnny Mnemonic and Chain Reaction, both of which failed at the box office.

Hitting a low in his career, Reeves then did the unthinkable and turned down the role of Jack Traven in the Speed sequel. He was reportedly offered $11 million dollars for the sequel but opted instead to star in the horror/drama The Devil's Advocate with Al Pacino and Charlize Theron. Reeves deferred his salary for The Devil's Advocate so Al Pacino would be cast, and did the same for The Replacements, guaranteeing the casting of Gene Hackman. In 1995 Reeves performed the title role in a Manitoba Theatre Centre production of Hamlet in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

His 1999 science fiction hit, The Matrix, re-established him as a Hollywood leading man, after a few years of films that received only moderate box office and mixed critical reception.

In between the first Matrix film and its sequels, Reeves appeared in several films that received mostly negative reviews and average box office grosses, including The Watcher, Sweet November and Hardball. However, the two "Matrix" sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, as well as the 2005 horror-action film, Constantine, proved to be box office successes, and brought Reeves back into the public spotlight.

On January 31, 2005, Reeves received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Reeves accompanied Sandra Bullock to the 2006 Academy Awards, which caused a great deal of controversy since Bullock is married to bike builder Jesse James. It was later revealed to be a publicity stunt to coincide with Bullock and Reeves having a movie rolling out that same year.

A Scanner Darkly is due for release in July and a film clip has been leaked, and can be seen on such video sites as Youtube.

Filmography

• Constantine (8-Feb-2005)
• Thumbsucker (23-Jan-2005)
• Something's Gotta Give (12-Dec-2003)
• The Matrix Revolutions (27-Oct-2003)
• The Matrix Reloaded (7-May-2003)
• The Animatrix (17-Apr-2003) [VOICE]
• Hardball (10-Sep-2001)
• Sweet November (12-Feb-2001)
• The Gift (20-Dec-2000)
• The Watcher (07-Sep-2000)
• The Replacements (7-Aug-2000)
• Me and Will (19-Oct-1999)
• The Matrix (31-Mar-1999)
• The Devil's Advocate (17-Oct-1997)
• The Last Time I Committed Suicide (05-Jun-1997)
• Feeling Minnesota (13-Sep-1996)
• Chain Reaction (2-Aug-1996)
• A Walk in the Clouds (27-May-1995)
• Johnny Mnemonic (15-Apr-1995)
• Speed (10-Jun-1994)
• Little Buddha (1-Dec-1993)
• Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (13-Sep-1993)
• Much Ado About Nothing (7-May-1993)
• Dracula (13-Nov-1992)
• My Own Private Idaho (12-Sep-1991)
• Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (19-Jul-1991)
• Point Break (12-Jul-1991)
• Tune in Tomorrow... (15-Sep-1990)
• I Love You to Death (6-Apr-1990)
• Parenthood (2-Aug-1989)
• Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (17-Feb-1989)
• Dangerous Liaisons (16-Dec-1988)
• The Prince of Pennsylvania (11-Sep-1988)
• Permanent Record (Apr-1988)
• The Night Before (1988)
• Babes in Toyland (19-Dec-1986)
• Under the Influence (28-Sep-1986)
• River's Edge (10-Sep-1986)
• Youngblood (31-Jan-1986)
• Brotherhood of Justice (1986)

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