keanu reeves

Actor

Hobbies include horseback riding and surfing (both inspired from movie roles).

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One of the most inscrutable actors to ever hit it big, Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1964. His mother, Patricia, was a showgirl; his father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, a geologist. After their marriage dissolved, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim to New York City, then Toronto. Stepfather #1 was Paul Aaron, a stage and film director - he and Patricia divorced within a year, after which she went on to marry (and divorce) rock promoter Robert Miller and hair salon owner Jack Bond. Reeves never reconnected with his biological father, who is now in prison on charges of cocaine possession. In high school, Reeves was lukewarm toward academics but took a keen interest in ice hockey (as team goalie, he earned the nickname "The Wall") and drama. He eventually dropped out of school to pursue an acting career. (IDMb)

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".

His father Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr. (b. 1942) is Chinese and Hawaiian. His mother Patricia Taylor is English, making him Eurasian

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 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 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 "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: Fe

Personal Quotes

What would happen if you melted? You know, you never really hear this talked about much, but spontaneous combustion? It exists!...[people] burn from within...sometimes they'll be in a wooden chair and the chair won't burn, but there'll be nothing left of the person. Except sometimes his teeth. Or the heart. No one speaks about this, but its for real.

My name can't be THAT tough to pronounce!

When I don't feel free and can't do what I want I just react. I go against it.

[when told he'd have to "bite the bullet"] Yes, but I don't have to eat the whole rifle.

I'm a meathead, man. You've got smart people, and you've got dumb people. I just happen to be dumb.

I'm sorry my existence is not very noble or sublime.

[On being a star] It can still be very surreal. It's easy to become very self-critical when you're an actor. Then you get critiqued be the critics. Whether you agree with them or not, people are passing judgment on you.

[On drugs] I've had wonderful experiences. I mean really wonderful. In teaching. Personal epiphanies. About life. About a different perspective -- help with different perspectives that you have. You know what I mean? Relationships to nature. Relationships with the self. With other people. With events.

[when asked if he had any fears] I used to have nightmares that they would put "He played Ted" on my tombstone.

I'm Mickey Mouse. They don't know who's inside the suit.

Here comes 40. I'm feeling my age and I've ordered the Ferrari. I'm going to get the whole mid-life crisis package

It's always wonderful to get to know women, with the mystery and the joy and the depth. If you can make a woman laugh, you're seeing the most beautiful thing on God's Earth.

[On River Phoenix] You can't blame Hollywood for what happened to River. Kids are doing drugs everywhere in the world. He had his own very personal problems I will never discuss with the press. They're just way too personal. River had a self-destructive side to his personality. He was angry and hurt that he couldn't have a private life once he became famous. He just couldn't deal with having his private life on the front page all the time.

[On River Phoenix] River was a remarkable artist and a rare human being. I miss him every day.

[On River Phoenix and My Own Private Idaho (1991)] We were doing I Love You to Death (1990), and we got the Idaho script. We were driving in a car on Santa Monica Boulevard, probably on the way to a club, and were talking really fast about the whole idea. We were excited. It could have been like a bad dream, a dream that never follows through because no one commits, but we just forced ourselves into it. We said, "Okay, I'll do it if you do it. I won't do it if you don't." We shook hands. That was it.