Career Highlights |
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Actor Credits
FilmographyActor CreditsFreaked (uncredited) [1993] Bill & Ted`s Bogus Journey [1991] TV Shows/Series"Bill & Ted`s Excellent Adventures" (Ted Logan) [1990] (# of episodes: 1) "The Tracey Ullman Show" (Jesse Walker) [1989] (# of episodes: 1) |
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Keanu Reeves Biography |
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Keanu Reeves was born in Lebanon. He is one-quarter Chinese, one-quarter Hawaiian, half-English, and a Canadian citizen. He attended four high schools, playing hockey and soccer before dropping out at 17. He was raised in Hawaii, Australia, New York, and Canada, where he did his first professional acting. His name comes from a Hawaiian word loosely translated as "cool breeze over the mountains".
At 16, he was in a Coca-Cola commercial, and featured in the Canadian sitcom Hangin` In. He later did a Kellogg`s Corn Flakes commercial, spent a summer studying acting at the Hedgerow Theatre in Pennsylvania. He briefly co-hosted a kids` show in Canada, with Chris Makepeace. At 22, Reeves came to Hollywood, and slept on his former stepfather`s couch until he moved on to his own apartment. In early roles, he played hockey with Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze in Youngblood, and played a troubled teen in River`s Edge with Crispin Glover and Dennis Hopper. He danced Jack-Be-Nimble in a TV production of Babes in Toyland starring 11-year-old Drew Barrymore. In 1989, still playing a teenager at 25, Bill & Ted`s Excellent Adventure made Reeves a star. In 1994, Speed with Sandra Bullock made him an A-list star. As a young actor, Reeves` best friend was River Phoenix. They made My Own Private Idaho together, and joked about filming Romeo and Juliet with Reeves as Romeo and Phoenix as Juliet. Reeves was filming Speed when Phoenix died. Reeves` life has had its share of tragedy. His sister Kim is battling leukemia, and Reeves has reportedly spent in excess of $5 million on her medical care. He has long been estranged from his natural father, who served a prison term for selling heroin. He dated a backstage Hollywood worker, Jennifer Syme, who bore his stillborn daughter in 1999. They broke up but remained friends, though she was killed in a 2001 car accident. During his long career, Reeves has occasionally disappeared from Hollywood for a year at a time, and he turned down a $12 million offer for Speed 2 to do Shakespeare on stage in a small Canadian theater. He is famously generous with his money, lavishing large gifts on charities and for his movies` backstage workers. A Buddhist and a pacifist, he opposes war on principle, and has turned down several films because the part seemed too violent. Reeves has spoken of using drugs, but is understandably reticent to discuss which drugs he has used. He often says drugs have given him some "amazing" experiences, then pauses, then says "amazing" a second time. Biography Credit: www.nndb.com/people/041/000022972/ |
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Trivia |
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BiographyDistinctive FeaturesSeveral scars from bike accidentsFriends and FamilyJessicka [Friend] :: Karina Miller [Sister] :: Kim Reeves [Sister] :: Patricia Taylor Reeves [Mother] :: Samuel Nowlin Reeves [Father]Trivia and QuotesQuotes 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. I`m Mickey Mouse. They don`t know who`s inside the suit. The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way. When I don`t feel free and can`t do what I want I just react. I go against it. “Do they? I don`t know. I haven`t checked it out, you know. I don`t like go home and like..."Google" me.” ~ Keanu, when told fans document his every move online My name can`t be that tough to pronounce!Trivia Deferred part of his salary on The Replacements (2000) so Gene Hackman could be cast. 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. He learned to surf for his role in Point Break 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. Learned over 200 martial arts moves for The Matrix Reloaded Musically Keanu is currently playing (bass) in "Becky" - also featuring Robert Mailhouse (drums), Paulie Kosta (guitar) and Rebecca Lord (vocals). Shares a birthday with actress Salma Hayek, heavyweight boxer Lennox Lewis and NFL Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson. Was originally cast as Chris Shiherlis in Heat (1995) but later backed out of the project, and the part went to Val Kilmer. Was originally offered the role of Pvt. Chris Taylor in Platoon (1986). Keanu turned it down and the role went to Charlie Sheen. Was set to reprise his role as Jack Traven in the sequel to Speed (1994/I)--Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)--but dropped out. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#17). 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. 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!" Maintains Canadian citizenship and passport. 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. Dropped out of high school when he was 17 to become an actor. His 1974 motorcycle is among his most prized possessions. 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. Hobbies include horseback riding and surfing (both inspired from movie roles). Father left the family when Keanu was very young. Had job sharpening ice skates. He loves to play ice hockey (goalie position). His father Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr. (b. 1942) is Chinese and Hawaiian. His mother Patricia Taylor is English, making him Eurasian like fellow actors Andrew Johnston, Brandon Lee, Rob Schneider, Russell Wong, Anthony Begonia, Michael Wong and actresses Jessica Anderson, Devon Aoki, Moon Bloodgood, China Chow, Kelly Hu, Traycee King, Kristin Kreuk, Jaymee Ong, Maggie Q, Nicole Scherzinger and Monica Young. Is left-handed. 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. 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). Stepson of film and stage director Paul Aaron. Was manager of a pasta shop in Toronto. Was nicknamed "the wall" by high school hockey team De La Salle College "Oaklands". Arrested in Los Angeles; charged with drunk driving. Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. 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. Loves ballroom dancing. Ranked #23 in Empire (UK) magazine`s "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. | ||
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