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Keanu Reeves has been in a lot of good movies over the years: River’s Edge, Speed, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Point Break. But it seems he’s more popular than ever right now because of the huge success of the John Wick movies.
And now that there’s a new Bill and Ted movie slated for release in 2021, people are even more pumped on Keanu!
Here are 10 facts about the man, the myth, the legend.
1. Hockey player
https://twitter.com/HistoryToLearn/status/807130157458681856
Reeves grew up in Canada and was a goalie when he played ice hockey. He appeared as a goalie in the 1986 movie Youngblood and was even offered a tryout by the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League. Reeves decided to pursue acting instead.
2. Declined
Reeves was on board to make a sequel to the hit movie Speed until he read the script and saw how bad it was. He apparently turned down between $11 million and $12 million to return and make the sequel.
3. International man
Reeves grew up in Canada but not many people know he was actually born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1964. He also spent some of his early years in Australia and New York City before he ended up in Toronto.
4. Other interests
Reeves played bass in a grunge band called Dogstar from 1991 until 2002. The band released two albums and one EP.
5. Odd jobs
Before he moved to Los Angeles at the age of 19, Reeves worked at a hockey rink and at an Italian food store in Canada.
6. Pay cuts
He’s taken major pay cuts over the years to work with legendary actors, including Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate and Gene Hackman in The Replacements.
7. A team player
Reeves is known as a lovely, generous person and here’s at least some of the proof. He made a fortune acting in The Matrix films, but he gave away $75 million to the special effects and costume teams, and he bought the entire stunt team Harley Davidson motorcycles.
8. Bummin’ around
https://twitter.com/murderyourgod/status/1131600475797807106
Even though he became a big star in the 1990s, Reeves didn’t buy a permanent place to live in Los Angeles until 2008. He lived in hotels and even in on-set trailers for a long time.
9. Riding high
Reeves is a motorcycle enthusiast and he’s paid the price over the years. Various accidents have resulted in a ruptured spleen, a broken ankle, and lost teeth, among other injuries.
10. The meaning of the name
https://twitter.com/LeBeautifulOnes/status/1132642541441044480
In case you didn’t know, Keanu means “cool breeze over the mountains” in Hawaiian. Seems like a fitting name for Mr. Reeves.
