Keanu Reeves
The approachable superstar turns 60
Keanu Reeves during a visit to Germany in July 2024.
© ddp/Stephen Blackberry/Action Plus Sports via ZUMA Press Wire
Keanu Reeves has appeared in some of Hollywood's biggest hits, yet is considered a grounded and private superstar.
Canadian Keanu Reeves, 60, is undoubtedly one of the biggest acting stars on the planet. Since the early 1990s, he has enjoyed success with unforgettable works such as “Point Break” and “Speed”. At the turn of the millennium, Reeves, who is said to have a penchant for the science fiction genre, temporarily became a superstar with the ultimate mindfuck “The Matrix”. Since 2014, he has been fighting his way through an action franchise that already includes four films and has grossed over a billion US dollars at the worldwide box office.
Not a good actor?
For many years, fans and film critics considered Reeves not to be a particularly good actor. Some even told him that he would never act and would only ever be himself. An unfair accusation that even seems a little ridiculous when you think of Reeves' biggest roles. Who else, if not him, could have played the initially naive, reserved programmer Neo, who for a long time struggles so much to accept his destiny as a messianic?
And who, if not him, among the already established, top-class Hollywood stars, could have performed the groundbreaking fight sequences that “The Matrix” had to offer in addition to the philosophical story so convincingly and captivatingly?
Reeves initially made a name for himself with athletic roles in which he was able to fully exploit his superstar charisma. In “Point Break” he was indoctrinated by Patrick Swayze (1952-2009) to become a surfer and thrill-seeker who, at the end of the grandiose, stylish crime thriller by Kathryn Bigelow, 72, realizes that his previous identity as a well-adjusted police officer is useless.
Reeves proved that he was not just a one-hit wonder at the box office in 1994 with “Speed”, the breathless action thriller with the simple but effective premise of a bus that cannot drive too slowly. After that, Hollywood was his oyster, but Reeves did not exactly have a lucky hand in choosing his roles in the further course of the 1990s – and in the years after “The Matrix Revolutions” was released in 2003, he also managed to squander his newly regained acting capital with appearances in films such as “The Lake House”, “Street Kings” and “47 Ronin”.
“John Wick” as a career saver
It's hard to imagine where Keanu Reeves would be as an actor today without the “John Wick” film series. Observers often point to parallels between Reeves' own, very private life story and the silent killer.
Because John Wick has already lost his wife when a gangster broke into his house and also killed his dog, which his wife had bought for him, knowing that she would die next, with the words “but you still need something, someone to love”.
Keanu Reeves has also suffered a few blows of fate in his life. His then girlfriend Jennifer Syme (1972-2001) gave birth to their daughter Ava in 1999, but she was stillborn. Syme later died in a car accident. His sister Kim Reeves, 57, fought against leukemia for ten years and his good friend River Phoenix (1970-1993), with whom he appeared in Gus Van Sant's cult film “My Own Private Idaho”, died of an overdose in 1993.
Reeves himself has donated millions of US dollars to cancer research – and is also considered to be a nice person who, for example, offers his seat to a heavily laden woman on the subway, or eats a sandwich in a very down-to-earth and unglamorous manner on a park bench.
The internet in particular seems to be fascinated by Reeves, who made his relationship with artist Alexandra Grant, 51, public in 2019, in numerous memes. Some of his fans would probably wish they could simply spend time with the superstar, who seems so approachable, likeable and at times thoughtful, but who reveals so little about his private life. Today, Monday (September 2), Keanu Reeves turns 60.
