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| Real Name: Keanu Charles Reeves | ||||
| Birthday: September 2, 1964 | ||||
| Place of Birth: Beirut, Lebanon | ||||
| Education: De La Salle College, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||||
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Keanu Reeves Biography and Filmography: A soaring, fine-looking to the point actor, Keanu Reeves shot to distinction in the 1980's and cemented his status as a major celebrity star in the 1990's with roles in movies like "Speed" with Sandra Bullock (1994) and "The Matrix" (2000). Born in Beirut and reared in Australia, New York and Canada, the actor crafted his talent on stage and television in Toronto before making his debut in the movie "Youngblood" in 1986. Reeves first grabbed attention as the young looking pot head whose buddy killed his girlfriend in the flick "River's Edge" (1987). While his resume included such young teen flicks like "Permanent Record" and "The Prince of Pennsylvania" (1988), Reeves tried to grow as a romantic music teacher in the movie "Dangerous Liaisons" (1988), he was over shadowed by old hand stars like John Malkovich and Glenn Close. The next year director Stephen Herek hired Reeves for his breakthrough role as Theodore Logan, the Southern California ocean and beach lover who time travels with his friend, in the innocent and entertaining "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure". He was so believable as the goofy sidekick that many believed that was his natural personality. It also didn't help that his next project was a role of similar type "Parenthood" with Steve Martin (1989) and "I Love You to Death" (1990). When Reeves tried to take on more significant projects, like the intense undercover cop in "Point Blank" (1991), viewers and critics were not willing to believe him.
Director Gus Van Sant made great use of Reeves' one of a kind screen allure when he cast him as the mayor's son who exchanges in his lush life style for an existence as a street hustler in "My Own Private Idaho" (1991). Partnered in the project with River Phoenix, Reeves gave a wonderful and tender performance. Casting agents and directors now saw Reeves as leading man material and tapped him play Jonathan Harker in Francis Ford Coppola's variation of "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992), a role Reeves does not speak of often for some reason. Some say he came off as a tad boring. More successful was a astounding venture into Shakespeare as Don Juan in Kenneth Branagh's movie "Much Ado About Nothing" with Kate Beckinsale and Denzel Washington (1993). Critics may have felt Reeves and the Bard would make an odd combination, but the actor did well and proved the tabloids wrong. Next, Reeves accepted the role of Siddhartha in Bernardo Bertolucci's "Little Buddha" (1994), a role that scarcely taxed his acting skills. He made great action adventure hero in the bomb on a bus action adventure thriller "Speed" (1994) along side Sandra Bullock, which increased his Hollywood standing. Reeves then surprised everyone by going back to Winnipeg and working one of the industries most demanding roles - "Hamlet". Feedback was mixed, although most reviews were courteous. But film critics were not as friendly about his next performances, thinking Reeves was miscast as a WWII fighter in the dreamy comedy "A Walk in the Clouds" (1995) and an engineer in the action adventure flick "Chain Reaction" with Morgan Freeman (1996). Reeves offered a solid and enjoyable performance as a go-getting southern attorney caught up by money, celebrity and Satan in "The Devil's Advocate" with Al Pacino (1997), which might be summarized as "The Exorcist" meets John Grisham. Despite the nonsense, the Reeves part was very believable as a successful trail lawyer. Following a few years of relaxation to unwind, Reeves once again returned to his action adventure hero character of Neo, an exceptional computer hacker who is hired by mystifying hoodlums and shown "The Matrix" (1999).
The next year Reeves joined with Charlize Theron (who played his wife in "Devil's Advocate") for the lifeless do-over of the romantic movie "Sweet November" and scarcely was noticed as an unenthusiastic Little League coach in "Hard Ball," a bad try of combining the "Mighty Ducks" style filmmaking with too much moral and ethical overtones. Following the smash box office success of the runaway hit movie, "The Matrix", Reeves was back with the dull sequels "The Matrix Reloaded" (2003) and "The Matrix Revolutions," (2003) directed by the Wachowski Brothers. Reeves next played a minor role in the romantic comedy "Something's Gotta Give" (2003), playing Jack Nicholson's charismatic cardiologist and ultimate romantic adversary when he falls in love with Nicholson's love interest Diane Keaton. In Keanu’ next project, he starred with Sandra Bullock, their first on-screen collaboration since the movie “Speed”, for “The Lake House” (2006), a foolish romantic drama variation of the film “Il Mare” (2000) about a pair of lovers who trade letters while living in the same tranquil lake house, only one of them exists two years into the future. Though the supernatural ingredient added a new twist to a standard love story, “The Lake House” faltered from a slow script and a lack of magic between the two main actors. Meanwhile, Reeves appeared in Richard Linklater’s variation of Philip K. Dick’s classic science fiction tale, “A Scanner Darkly” (2006), playing a unenthusiastic undercover narcotics cop who investigates his alter ego, a drug addicted street thug trying to introduce of a dangerous new drug. Next was the comedy "Thumbsucker" (2005) with Benjamin Bratt, about a man Justin, who throws himself and everyone around him into chaos when he attempts to break free from his addiction to his thumb. Another action adventure film followed with "Constantine" (2005) with Shia Labeouf, and based on the DC/Vertigo comic book "Hellblazer" and written by Kevin Brodbin, Mark Bomback and Frank Capello, Constantine tells the story of irreverent supernatural detective John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), who has literally been to hell and back.
Keanu took a year off from film making, but returned in 2008 with the crime thriller "Street Kings" (2008) about a veteran LAPD cop who finds life difficult to navigate after the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him. Next was the dramatic science fiction film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (2008) with Jennifer Connelly and Kathy Bates, a remake of the 1951 classic sci-fi film about an alien visitor and his giant robot counterpart who visit Earth. Wrapping up the year, Reeves was cast and hired for the role of Chris in the dramatic movie "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" (2009) about a woman who after her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, she engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.
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In
2000, Reeves was hired to play a former football quarterback recruited to play in the
major leagues during the 1987 NFL strike in "The Replacements", and
a serial killer hunted by a federal FBI agent (James Spader) in
"The Watcher". Keanu continued to play darker roles on the villainous side by
playing the part of a wife abuser (opposite 
