Keanu Reeves - Biography

Last Editor: ytyu4				Keanu Reeves Biography -   Name : Keanu Reeves Birthdate : 2 September 1964 Birthplace : Beirut, Lebanon Birth Name : Keanu Charles Reeves Height : 6'1 Education : High School for the Performing Arts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada De La Salle College (dropped out) Second City workshop in Toronto Nationality : Canadian Relationship : Carrie-Anne Moss (actress; dated in 1999), Jennifer Syme Occupation : Actor, musician Best Known As : Neo in The Matrix

Keanu Reeves Trivia -

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 Norton Commando motorcycles whose engines were available in both 750cc and 850cc capacities, the high-compression version being the Combat Commando. Sister, Kim (born in Australia in 1966). Through his mother he has a half-sister named Karina Miller (born 1976 in Toronto). Through his father he has a half-sister named Emma Reeves (born 1980 in Hawaii). Named after his uncle Henry Keanu Reeves. "Keanu" is a derivation of Reeves' great-great-uncle Keaweaheulu, whose name means "the soft breeze raising" in Hawaiian. Stepson of film and stage director Paul Aaron. Had job sharpening ice skates. Was nicknamed "the wall" by high school hockey team De La Salle College "Oaklands". Father left the family when Keanu was very young. Was manager of a pasta shop in Toronto. His father was a geologist who served time in prison. He was paroled after serving two years of a ten-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 name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian. 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 "keh-ah-noo.". Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#17). [1995] In November 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 Ava 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 three films whose title contains a US state: Feeling Minnesota (1996), My Own Private Idaho (1991) and The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988) and his character in Point Break (1991) was named John Utah. Was set to reprise his role as Jack Traven in the sequel to Speed (1994/I)--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. 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), Constantine (2005), A Scanner Darkly (2006), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008). 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 The 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 Robert Mailhouse, due to scheduling conflicts. Auditioned for the Etobicoke School of the Arts in Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; but was rejected. Replaced Val Kilmer as "Johnny Mnemonic" in Johnny Mnemonic (1995) when Kilmer left the project upon being offered the role of "Batman" in Batman Forever (1995). Ironically, Kilmer later replaced Reeves as "Chris Siherlis" in Heat (1995). His best friend was actor River Phoenix. He is also friends with River's brother Joaquin Phoenix. His parents married in Hawaii and divorced in 1966. His mother later remarried Paul Aaron (divorced in 1971) and Robert Miller (between 1976 and 1980). The character of Jimbo Jones on "The Simpsons" (1989) is based on his character from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989). Lent one of his basses (a yellow Fender) to be used in the music video 100% by Sonic Youth to bassist Kim Gordon. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#28). [2007]. Has played a former quarterback from The Ohio State University in two movies Point Break and The Replacements. Turned down the role of Racer X in Speed Racer (2008). The part eventually went to Matthew Fox. Joel Schumacher considered him for the role of The Scarecrow, Jonathan Crane, in the fifth Batman movie had Schumacher gone on to direct Batman 5. The failure of Batman & Robin (1997) prevented that from happening. An avid fan of Formula 1 and IndyCar racing.

Keanu Reeves Detailed Biography -

Keanu Charles Reeves was born September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon, to Samuel Nowlin Reeves (half-Hawaiian, half-Chinese) and Patric Taylor (English). After their divorce, Patric and Samuel went their separate ways. Keanu visited his father in Hawaii on occasion until he was thirteen. That was the last time Keanu saw him. Keanu attended Jesse Ketchum Public School in Toronto from kindergarten through the eighth grade, and attended four high schools (including De La Salle College and the Toronto School for the Performing Arts) before dropping out completely at age 17. Keanu took on lots of different jobs, including sharpening skates at an ice rink shop (he's an avid hockey player), landscaping, and making pasta (and managing the place to boot!). Then came some stage work (most notably - and notoriously - Wolfboy in 1984, his professional stage debut) and some bit parts on TV. His motion picture debut was in Dream To Believe in Canada but it [reportedly] was the 1986 TV movie Under the Influence that earned him his SAG union card. Keanu's first big feature film debut in a US film was in Youngblood in which he had a small part. Keanu hit the road for Hollywood in 1986 with $3,000, an old Volvo, and his stepfather Paul Aaron's address. Keanu soon landed River's Edge, arguably one of his best roles ever. A string of movies followed (see CREDITS) as the troubled (or misfit) teen. His parts continued to grow, and then he started attracting the eye of more mainstream directors. He landed films like Dangerous Liaisons, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Much Ado About Nothing, and Little Buddha. But it was 1994's Speed that really made everyone stand up and notice. Perhaps not so much for Keanu's acting, but the fact that this was his first mega-hit, grossing nearly $300 million at the box office (world-wide). Figures like that will catch the eye of any studio executive, and Keanu was soon reportedly being offered sums up to $7 million for his services. With Johnny Mnemonic and A Walk in the Clouds already in the can, those offers were put on hold or turned down so that Keanu could return to Canada and fulfill a dream of playing the title role in Hamlet on stage. Reviews were mixed, but in general reviewers were kind and some were enthusiastic. More films followed: Feeling Minnesota, Chain Reaction and The Last Time I Committed Suicide, which did moderately at the box office. Keanu was then offered the lead in the sequel to Speed, entitled Speed II. But he felt the script was not good and he turned it down. Everyone accused Keanu of making a horrible mistake; and that he should have done the role. 20th Century Fox, not wishing to disclose the real reason Keanu turned it down (bad script), gave out a press release saying that Keanu turned it down so he could tour with his band, Dogstar. In fact, that was not true. Keanu was offered a better script (Devil's Advocate) and he filmed that at the same time as the disastrous Speed II was filmed. Devil's Advocate was a big hit and Speed II sunk at the box office. Suddenly critics were saying how smart Keanu was for turning down Speed II. The it was off to Australia to film The Matrix. No one knew what to expect from this, and when it opened in the spring of 1999 it was a huge blockbuster, and brought Keanu back front and center in the public eye and catapulted him into the top ranks of money earners with an asking salary of $20 million per picture. In the summer of 1999 Keanu filmed The Replacements, and finished out the year with The Watcher. Both of those pictures were released in the year 2000. In 2000, Keanu went on to film three more films, The Gift, Sweet November, and Hardball including two sequels to The Matrix.