Keanu Reeves is a 57-year-old actor. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 2, 1964.¹⁾

His mother was a costume designer and showgirl, while his father was a geologist.²⁾

Unfortunately, Keanu's father abandoned his family when he was just three years old. Since then, he has been raised solely by his mother, Patricia.³⁾

He travelled around a lot as a kid, from Hawaii to Australia to New York to Canada.⁴⁾

His mother worked as a costume designer in the rock and roll scene after arriving in Toronto, Canada. Surprisingly, Alice Cooper ended up babysitting a young Keanu Reeves.⁵⁾

Keanu went to high school in Canada, but because he was frequently expelled, he ended up attending four separate high schools. He eventually quit out at the age of 17 to pursue acting.⁶⁾

Keanu was named after Henry Keanu Reeves, his uncle. In Hawaiian, Keanu means “cold air over the mountains”.⁷⁾

His mother is English, while his father's family is more diversified. His father is a Hawaiian-born American of Chinese-Hawaiian, English, Irish, and Portuguese ancestry.⁸⁾

Nonetheless, Keanu is a Canadian citizen and believes himself to be one.⁹⁾

He pondered playing ice hockey for the Canadian Olympic team in high school, but changed his mind and became an actor instead.¹⁰⁾

In 1986, he made his first studio film debut as a goalie in “Youngblood”.¹¹⁾

In 1994, Reeves' career took a turn when he earned the main part in “Speed”. He's been successful enough to be more choosy about his job since this blockbuster hit skyrocketed his career.¹²⁾

Keanu was a bassist for the band Dogstar in addition to acting. They were together from 1991 till 2002. They've shared the stage with Bon Jovi, Rancid, and Weezer.¹³⁾

While filming a movie, Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix became close friends. Keanu believed River was a fantastic fit for the character of “My Own Private Idaho” when he viewed the script. He rode his motorcycle over 1,000 miles to bring the screenplay to River and persuade him to take the part.¹⁴⁾

Keanu refused to repeat his part in “Speed 2” because he didn't like the screenplay. Instead, he opted to travel with his band and portray Hamlet in a 798-seat Winnipeg theatrical production.¹⁵⁾

Reeves was banned by 20th Century Fox for ten years after declining the $11 million dollar part in “Speed 2”.¹⁶⁾

Keanu Reeves eventually earned his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005.¹⁷⁾

Keanu, a motorcycle enthusiast, co-founded “Arch Motorcycle Company”, which manufactures and sells custom motorcycles.¹⁸⁾

Keanu Reeves has been known to take salary cuts for movies in order to cover other expenses. He gave $1 million of his salary for “The Devil's Advocate” in order for Al Pacino to be cast. In addition, he took a $38 million salary reduction from his part of ticket earnings for “The Matrix” so that the filmmakers could finance greater special effects.¹⁹⁾

Even with the money he's given up, Keanu Reeves is one of the world's highest-paid actors. He made $156,000,000 between “The Matrix Reloaded” and “The Matrix Revolutions”. Meanwhile, the majority of the highest-paid performers earn between $20 and $30 million each year.²⁰⁾

Keanu handed each member of “The Matrix” stunt unit a Harley Davidson motorcycle as a present.²¹⁾