Last month I told you I’d soon be launching a new feature called “Star of the Week”.
I had a fantastic response from everyone on Facebook and was given loads of actor’s name’s to feature.
One in particular got mentioned a few times so...
Today’s Star of the Week is Keanu Reeves.
Keanu (Hawaiian for “cool breeze over the mountains”) Reeves is a Canadian actor responsible for giving us some of the biggest and most iconic movies of the last four decades.
In case you ever wondered, his mother is English (from Essex) and his father is from Hawaii and has Chinese, English, Irish, Native Hawaiian and Portuguese heritage.
Keanu was born in Beirut which is where his mother met his father while she was there working.
His career started with a few TV shows and commercials for products like Coca Cola and Kellogg’s Cornflakes, followed by a number of small roles on the big screen. It was Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure though that really put him on the map.
By the early 90s Keanu Reeves was becoming a household name but when he got the role of Jack Traven in 1994’s Speed, he established himself as an action star and the rest as they say is history.
Known for being a super nice guy and extremely generous, the internet is full of videos and stories of the extraordinary things he’s done throughout his life.
From something as simple as giving up his seat on a subway train to a random stranger, to gifting £50 million to the costume and special effects team involved in The Matrix movies, and buying each of the stunt crew their own Harley Davidson motorcycle, he’s a true example of a genuinely decent human being.
Sadly he’s had more than his fair share of tragedy over the years, but by all accounts he hasn’t allowed it to change his positive outlook on life.
He’ll soon be reprising his role as Neo in the upcoming fourth instalment of the Matrix franchise and also John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 4.
Thanks to Nick, Sonjon, Rachel and Phillip for suggesting Keanu Reeves, The Screen Room Movie Podcast’s first Star of the Week.
Nick’s top 5 Keanu Reeves movies are:
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Point Break (1991)
Speed (1994)
The Matrix (1999)
Permanent Record (1988)
What are yours?