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Keanu Reeves Profile |
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Birth Date:
September 2, 1964
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Birth Place: Beirut, Lebanon
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Birth Name: Keanu Charles Reeves
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Height: 6'1"
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Biography |
Keanu Reeves gained the notice of the critics in 1986's
River's Edge, but his first major film role was in 1986, in
the hockey movie YoungBlood, starring Rob Lowe. Reeves's
first popularly successful film was Bill & Ted's Excellent
Adventure, in 1989. Indeed, and perhaps unfortunately for
Reeves, much of his subsequent portrayal in the press has
been influenced by his comically airheaded character Ted in
that film.
His work in diverse roles span from small independent movies
such as My Own Private Idaho to major blockbusters like The
Matrix. Reeves reprised his starring role from that movie
for the sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix
Revolutions, both box-office hits.
In December 1999, Reeves' girlfriend, Jennifer Syme, gave
birth to his stillborn daughter who was named 'Ava Archer
Reeves'. In April 2001, Jennifer 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.
On January 31, 2005, Keanu Reeves was honored with a star on
the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his achievements in the
entertainment industry. Usually this honor is tied with a
recent project from the artist, Reeves' was his latest film
Constantine.
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 12 hard-working stuntmen to motorcycles, among
other things. He does not have (by 'Hollywood' standards)
many possessions and keeps his life uncluttered. 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 left the band and his musical
career for good. |
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Other
Information |
Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful
people in the world. [1995]
Ranked #23 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie
Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Arrested in Los Angeles; charged with drunk driving. [May
1993]
Loves Ballroom dancing.
He owns at least two Noroton Commandos whose engines were
available in both 750cc and 850cc capacities, the high
compression version being the Combat Commando.
Sisters are Karina and Kim.
Named after his great, great-uncle.
His step-father, Paul Aaron, is a film and stage Director.
Had job sharpening ice skates.
Was nicknamed "the wall" by high school hockey team De La
Salle College "Oaklands".
Father part Chinese part Hawaiian, Mother English.
Father left the family when Keanu was very young.
Is left-handed.
Was manager of a pasta shop in Toronto.
He loves to play ice hockey (goalie position).
His father was a geologist. Served time in prison; paroled
after serving two years of a 10 year sentence for selling
heroin at Hilo Airport in 1992.
His mother, Patricia Taylor, was a costume designer for rock
stars such as Alice Cooper.
His 1974 motorcycle is among his most prized possessions.
His name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian.
In Hawaiian, "ke" means "the" and "anu" means "cool or
coolness"; hence "the coolness" or (very) interpretively,
"the cool winds over the mountain."
Dropped out of high school when he was 17 to become an
actor.
Hobbies include horseback riding and surfing (both inspired
from movie roles).
Was MVP on his high school hockey team, where he was a
goalie.
Keanu got his abdominal scar from a motorcycle wreck in
Topanga Canyon. He was on a "demon ride" (no headlights at
night) when he crashed into the side of a mountain. He was
hospitalized for a week with broken ribs and a ruptured
spleen. When the paramedics came to get him, an emergency
medical technician trainee picked up one end of the
stretcher ... then dropped it by mistake! "It made me laugh,
but I couldn't breathe!"
When trying out for the parts of Bill and Ted in Bill &
Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), each actor was paired up
with another. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter were paired up,
Reeves trying out for the part of Bill while Winter tried
out for the part of Ted. They were cast opposite what they
auditioned for.
His first name, Keanu, is pronounced "kay-ah-new".
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in
film history (#17). [1995]
Around Christmas 1999, the baby girl he was expecting with
girlfriend Jennifer Syme was stillborn, just a few weeks shy
of the actual delivery date. They had planned to name her
Eva Archer Syme Reeves.
His estranged girlfriend Jennifer Syme was killed when her
Jeep Cherokee careered onto the wrong side of a Los Angeles
road near Highway 101 and smashed into three parked cars.
The force of the crash flipped the car over and she was
thrown through the windshield. She was killed instantly. [2
April 2001]
Maintains Canadian citizenship and passport.
Has appeared in 3 movies whose title contains a US state:
Feeling Minnesota (1996), My Own Private Idaho (1991), and
The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988).
Was set to reprise his role as Jack Traven in the sequel to
Speed - Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) - but dropped out
Deferred part of his salary on The Replacements (2000) so
Gene Hackman could be cast.
Keanu resides in Toronto, Canada where he grew up
Learned over 200 martial arts moves for The Matrix Reloaded
(2003).
Musically Keanu is currently playing (bass) in "Becky" -
also featuring Robert Mailhouse (drums), Paulie Kosta
(guitar) and Rebecca Lord (vocals).
Was originally offered the role of Pvt. Chris Taylor in
Platoon (1986). Keanu turned it down and the role went to
Charlie Sheen.
Was originally cast as Chris Shiherlis in Heat (1995) but
later backed out of the project, and the part went to Val
Kilmer.
He went to high school at North Toronto, where his drama
teacher was Paul Robert. Mr. Robert now works at Northern
Secondary as a drama teacher.
Shares a birthday with actress Salma Hayek, heavyweight
boxer Lennox Lewis and NFL Hall of Fame running back Eric
Dickerson.
Frequently plays man either strapped or sitting in a chair
while some type of procedure is performed on him. All three
Matrix films, Johnny Mnemonic (1995), Feeling
Minnesota(1996)_ , Dracula(1992)_ and Constantine (2005).
Although left-handed, plays bass with his right.
31st January 2005: Honoured with a Star on the Hollywood
Walk Of Fame.
Read the script of _Constantine(2005)_ while filming
_Matrix: Revolutions (2003)_ .
His first theater work was with Shakespeare and Company in
Lenox, Massachusetts in "The Tempest."
He learned to surf for his role in Point Break (1991)
Is very good friends with his Bill & Ted co-star, Alex
Winter and has remained in contact with him. Keanu has also
contributed cameo appearances and helped with a number of
Winter's film projects.
His best friend is his sister.
He has recently left the band "Becky" with former Dogstar
band mate Rob Mailhouse, due to scheduling conflicts. |
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