Keanu Reeves, a Canadian actor who is best known in action movies as John Wick, has over the years, starred in several films, some of which have earned billions of dollars at the box office.
Gatekeepers News reports that Keanu who is one of the richest actors in the world is also known for his role as Neo in the historic “The Matrix” franchise.
Early Life
Keanu Charles Reeves was born on September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon.
His mother Patricia is from Essex, England, and his father Samuel is from Hawaii. Keanu’s mother met his father while she was working as a costume designer in Beirut.
Although Keanu spent much of his early childhood globe-trotting with his mother after his father walked out on the family when he was three years old, they finally settled in Toronto and became Canadian citizens in 1971.
Hindered by dyslexia, Keanu’s education suffered. He was expelled from several high schools. However, he compensated for his lacklustre grades on the ice, by excelling as a goaltender for his high school hockey team.
After performing in a school production of Romeo and Juliet and discovering his love of performance, Keanu left hockey and school to pursue a career in acting.
Early Career
Starting out with small roles on Canadian television, commercials, and various stage productions, Keanu first appeared on the big screen in 1986’s Youngblood. He then landed various co-starring roles, including a bigger role in the critically acclaimed River’s Edge. Keanus accomplished surprise box office success with the 1989 smash-hit Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which domestically grossed over $40 million dollars. Reeves went on to star in a host of films, both major and independent, including the drama Point Break and the indie cult-hit My Own Private Idaho.
Personal Life
Jennifer Syme, who was Reeves’ girlfriend throughout the ’90s, gave birth to their stillborn daughter, Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, on December 24, 1999. The grief affected their relationship and they split several weeks later. In April 2001, Syme was involved in a car accident and she died on impact. Reeves was scheduled at the time to begin shooting The Matrix sequels back-to-back and sought time to deal with the incident before he began filming. In 2008, he dated China Chow. He has never been married and is tight-lipped about his love life.
Reeves is not religious but interested in Buddhism and describes himself as spiritual.
He has a cancer charity he set up, but chose not to attach his name to it. He supports PETA, Stand up to Cancer, and the SickKids Foundation.
Aside acting, Reeves played bass guitar for the band Dogstar for many years in the ’90s. Additionally, he is an avid motorcyclist and co-founded a company that builds custom motorcycles, Arch Motorcycle Company. He also co-founded a production company called Company Films.
Reeves is the founder of a small press called X Artists’ Books. He himself has written two books, Ode to Happiness and Shadows.
Net Worth
Reeve, a musician, producer and philanthropist, has a net worth of $380 million following his success in the movie industry and collaboration with different brands throughout his career.
