Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves (born 2.9.1964)

Keanu Reeves is a Canadian actor, best known for playing Neo in the film The Matrix and Ted in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey. Keanu Reeves was awarded his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame In January 2005.

Keanu Reeves: Childhood

Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut, in Lebanon. He was born to Patricia Taylor and Samuel Reeves Jr. His mother was a costume designer and performer and his father was a geologist. Patricia is English, whilst his father is an American, with a mixture of Portugese, Chinese and Hawaiian descent. Keanu has a sister, Kim b.1966) and two half-sisters, Karina (b.1976) and Emma (b.1980).

Keanu's father abandoned him and his mother when he was 13 and he currently has no relationship with his father.

Although Reeves was moved around a great deal during his formative years, he grew up mainly in Toronto and attended four different high schools. His educational achievements were partly held back by his dyslexia. He attended Avondale Alternative, a school that allowed him to study whilst training as an actor. However, he dropped out of this school before obtaining his high school diploma.

Keanu Reeves: Acting Career

Keanu Reeves started acting aged nine, appearing onstage in a production of Damn Yankees. He made his screen-acting debut in the comedy series, Hangin' In.

The 1980s brought a great deal of advertisement work for Keanu, including an appearance in an ad campaign for Coca-Cola. He also appeared in a number of short films (including One Step Away) and stage performances (including the underground hit Wolf Boy).

The actor's first proper movie was Rob Lowe's Youngblood, filmed in Canada. Following the filming of the movie, he met with his manager to-be, Erwin Stoff. Stoff remains Reeves' manager to this day.

The years that followed brought a number of movie roles aimed at teenage viewers. At the end of the decade, he appeared in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, which was a surprise success, as was its 1991 sequel, Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

Keen to break away from teen-film typecasting, Reeves appeared in Point Break, a high-budget action film as well as more serious independent films such as My Own Private Idaho. His co-star in this film was his close friend River Pheonix.

Reeves' career hit a new peak in 1994 upon the release of Speed, an action film in which he starred alongside Sandra Bullock. It was this film that really propelled Keanu Reeves to A-list stardom. Suprisingly to many members of the world's media, he refused to appear in the film's sequel, choosing instead to take on a theatrical role, playing Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Winnipeg theatre.

Subsequent movie appearances failed to stir the critics. Big budget releases such as Johnny Mnemonic were a commercial and critical failure, as were smaller budget film such as Feeling Minnesota, which also featured Courtney Love.

Reeves's return to grace and critical favour began with his appearance alongside Charlize Theron and Al Pacino in the Devil's Advocate.

In 1999, The Matrix was released and guaranteed Reeves' position as an international star. Its sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were also huge successes. Other films released around this time, including the horror film Constantine and the science fiction film A Scanner Darkly also received good critical reviews. His re-pairing with Sandra Bullock in The Lake House was also a box-office success.

Keanu Reeves: Music

Keanu Reeves plays bass guitar in his band Dogstar, though the band is now `in hibernation'. In 2005, Reeves announced that he was giving up his musical career.

Keanu Reeves: Personal Life

In 1999, Keanu Reeves' girlfriend of the time, Jennifer Syme, gave birth to a stillborn baby girl. Less than two years later, Jennifer was killed in a car crash. Keanu has spoken very little about the incidents, stating only that he does not believe in the theory that everything happens for a reason.