photo:
https://www.topnews.in/files/keanu-reeves.jpg
Biography
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.
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.[1] 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 Keanu 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. He moved to Los Angeles in 1986, and subsequently began appearing in American films, and 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".
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. 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. 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 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.
Private life
In December 1999, Reeves' girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave birth to a stillborn daughter who was named "Ava Archer Syme Reeves". In April 2001, Syme was killed in an automobile accident. She was buried next to their daughter in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Reeves dated actress Carrie-Anne Moss during the filming of The Matrix.[2]
Reeves has lived in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles since 2003, but also has an apartment in New York City. He does not officially belong to any religion, although he has a Christian background and is interested in Buddhism.
Reeves is fond of chess, motorcycles, ice hockey, and ping-pong. He is left-handed, but plays the bass guitar right-handed and loves punk rock bands such as The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash. In a 1992 New Year's Eve party show, Reeves filled in on bass for The Vandals, while bassist Joe Escalante was at a wedding. He began playing bass with the rock band Dogstar, which has now gone "into hibernation". More recently, he played bass in a band called Becky with former Dogstar drummer Rob Mailhouse, guitarist Paulie Costa and singer Rebecca Lord. In early 2005, he announced that he is leaving the band and his musical career for good.
Reeves is reported to be very generous with his time and money, lending both to a variety of causes. He took a significant amount of the profits from his Matrix series and treated the twelve stuntmen who worked on the films to motorcycles, among other things.
Selected filmography
2006- Stompanato - Johnny Stompanato
2006 - Fishing for Moonlight
2006 - A Scanner Darkly - Fred/Bob Arctor
2006 - The Lake House - Alex Burnham
2005 - Thumbsucker - Perry Lyman
2005 - Constantine - John Constantine
2003 - Something's Gotta Give - Dr. Julian Mercer
2003 - The Matrix Revolutions - Neo
2003 - The Matrix Reloaded - Neo
2001 - Hardball - Conor O'Neill
2001 - Sweet November - Nelson Moss
2000 - The Gift - Donnie Barksdale
2000 - The Watcher - David Allen Griffin
2000 - The Replacements - Shane Falco
1999 - The Matrix - Thomas Anderson/Neo
1997 - The Devil's Advocate - Kevin Lomax
1996 - Feeling Minnesota - Jjaks Clayton
1995 - Chain Reaction - Eddie Kasalivich
1995 - A Walk in the Clouds - Paul Sutton
1995 - Johnny Mnemonic - Johnny Mnemonic
1994 - Speed - Officer Jack Traven
1994 - Little Buddha - Siddhartha
1994 - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - Julian Gitche
1993 - Much Ado About Nothing - Don John
1992 - Bram Stoker's Dracula - Jonathan Harker
1991 - My Own Private Idaho - Scott Favor
1991 - Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey - Ted Logan/Evil Ted
1991 - Point Break - FBI Special Agent John 'Johnny' Utah
1990 - Tune in Tomorrow - Martin Loader
1990 - I Love You to Death - Marlon James
1989 - Parenthood - Tod Higgins
1989 - Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure - Ted Logan
1988 - Dangerous Liaisons - Le Chevalier Raphael Danceny
1988 - The Prince of Pennsylvania - Rupert Marshetta
1988 - Permanent Record - Chris Townsend
1986 - River's Edge - Matt
References
Fleming, Michael. Playboy Interview: Keanu Reeves, Playboy Magazine. pp. 49-52, 140-141. (April 2006)
"Pondering the mysterious Keanu Reeves", CNN / Associated Press. (November 5, 2003)
Makela, Bob. "Keanu Reeves: All the right moves", USA Weekend. (August 5, 2000)
collection of interviews, 1987-2006
