Top 10 Things You Don't Know About Keanu Reeves
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#10: He Had a Recurring Role on the Series “Swedish Dicks”
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Reeves’ television appearances have been few and far between. However, in 2016 he accepted a recurring role on a little-known TV show created by and starring his friend, Peter Stormare. The show revolves around a couple of LA based private eyes who are constantly taking on comedic and/or bizarre cases – oh, and they also happen to be Swedish. Reeves plays Tex Johnson, the deceased best friend of the show’s protagonist, who continues to visit him as an apparition. IndieWire described Reeves’ performance as “the kind of anchoring force that the rest of the scenes without him are in search of.” While hardly a glowing review of the show, “Swedish Dicks” is worth checking out, if only to see Keanu Reeves on the small screen.
#9: He's Written / Contributed to 2 Books
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Keanu Reeves is a man of many talents. And while acting is clearly his bread and butter, he’s shown on numerous occasions that he’s capable of demonstrating his artistic flair in a variety of different ways. For instance, in 2011 he collaborated with artist Alexandra Grant on a “grown-up children’s book” titled Ode to Happiness. The book is comprised of a single poem written by Reeves and includes lines like “I draw a hot sorrow bath/In my despair room/I wash my hair with regret shampoo.” Grant created the drawings that accompany each line of the misanthropic yet slyly self-aware poem, of which only 4000 copies were made. Reeves and Grant teamed up again a couple years later to explore the meaning of shadows in their book…Shadows.
#8: He Passed on “Speed 2: Cruise Control” to Star in a Play in Canada
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Reeves’ fame reached new heights with the release of “Speed” in 1994. However, instead of signing on for the sequel, “Speed 2: Cruise Control”, which would have netted him a cool $11 million, he opted to star in a Canadian stage production of “Hamlet” …in Winnipeg. The decision wasn’t exactly out of character for Reeves, who’d appeared in a production of “Romeo & Juliet” as a teen, as well as the 1993 Shakespeare film adaptation “Much Ado About Nothing”. However, in a 2019 interview with GQ, Reeves revealed that the decision put him in “movie jail”, as Fox refused to work with him for about 10 years as retaliation. The controversial move was probably for the best, as “Speed 2” was decimated by critics and made about half as much as the original.
#7: His Parents Had Odd Professions
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Children are more often than not a product of their environment; and as one of Hollywood’s preeminent outsiders, it’s not exactly shocking to learn that Keanu Reeves’ parents also veered towards society’s outer rims. In the ‘60s, Reeves’ mother, Patricia Taylor, made a living as a performer, in Paris and Beirut. It was while living in the latter that she met Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr., a heroin addict and dealer. The two had Keanu in 1964, but Reeves Jr. would abandon the family a couple years later. After that, Reeves and his mother lived in a number of places, before ultimately settling in Toronto. Along the way, Taylor found work as a costume designer, and one of her clients, rock star Alice Cooper, used to babysit Keanu!
#6: He Builds Motorcycles
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Keanu Reeves’ passion for motorcycles runs deep. To hear him discuss his “preferred mode of transportation” in a 2017 interview with Esquire magazine is extremely revealing, as he calls motorcycle riding a “physical sensation”, one that reminds you, “You're moving on the surface of the planet.” Reeves has been in his fair share of accidents over the years, enduring scars, broken ribs and the rumoured removal of his spleen - he debunked the latter surgery in a Vanity Fair article however. In 2011, he co-founded Arch Motorcycle with bike builder Gard Hollinger, with three different models having been produced by the luxury custom manufacturer as of 2017. Reeves’ passion for motorcycles became mainstream knowledge in 2019 thanks to a series of hilarious Squarespace commercials that aired during the Super Bowl.
#5: He Was in 2 Bands: Dogstar & Becky
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In addition to acting and writing, Keanu Reeves is also a talented musician, having played bass for a couple of bands in the ‘90s and 2000s. The first and arguably more notable of the two was Dogstar. Reeves described their sound as “trash folk” and claims that they were once booed off stage at a metal festival due to their differing sound. The crowd reportedly threw beer at them, and according to Reeves, “They were just like, F*** you, you suck.” It wasn’t all bad though, as the band managed to open for artists like Bon Jovi and David Bowie over the years. Dogstar disbanded in 2002 and Reeves would later briefly play bass for a band called Becky in the mid 2000s.
#4: He Donates Much of His Time & Money to Charities
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Though there are a lot of quotes out there that have been misattributed to Keanu Reeves, at least this one seems true, considering what little we know about the extremely private actor: "Money is the last thing I think about. I could live on what I have already made for the next few centuries." In the 2000s, he set up a private foundation to help fund children’s hospitals and cancer research. However, in a move that made it clear he wasn’t looking for publicity, Reeves opted not to attach his name to it. Reeves has donated his time and money to a number of other organizations as well, including the SickKids Foundation, Stand Up to Cancer and PETA. Also in the 2000s, “The Matrix” films were reportedly delayed so that Reeves could spend more time with his leukemia-stricken sister, who is fortunately now in remission. Looks like “Good Guy Keanu” ain’t just a meme!
#3: He's Suffered Some Major Personal Tragedies
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In the ‘90s and early 2000s, Reeves endured a few tragic events. In 1993, his good friend River Phoenix died of a drug overdose. Then, in December of 1999, Reeves’ girlfriend, fellow actor Jennifer Syme, gave birth to a daughter. Sadly, the child was stillborn, devastating the young couple. The heartbreak of losing their child ultimately led to Reeves and Syme breaking up. Despite the tragedy, the two remained close in the ensuing years. Less than two years later however, Syme was driving to a party when she crashed into a row of parked cars and was killed instantly. The accident deeply affected Reeves. These events are often used as the basis for the idea that Keanu Reeves is a sad individual, embodied by “Sad Keanu” meme. What with the Keanussance of the late 2010s though, it does seem like Reeves has been able to find some joy and happiness later in life.
#2: He Has a Diverse Ancestral Background
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If Keanu Reeves were ever to sign up for Ancestry.com, we have a funny feeling his family lineage would be long and extremely complicated. Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon to an English mother and an American father. Simple enough, right? Well, not exactly. Reeves father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr. is of Chinese, English, Irish, Portuguese and Native Hawaiian descent; and it’s been said that Reeves was “around Chinese art, furniture and cuisine” as a child. In fact, he continues to have a deep appreciation for Asian culture. So, to break it all down, Reeves is a Canadian-American, but only has Canadian citizenship. However, he could claim British citizenship as well thanks to his mother…but has yet to do so.
Before we get to our top pick, here are some honorable mentions:
He Was a Teen TV Host on the CBC
He Was a Successful Hockey Player
He Believes He Was Haunted by a Jacket
He Only Started Regularly Smoking After Playing a Smoker in “Feeling Minnesota”
He Made His Directorial Debut with “Man of Tai Chi”
#1: The Meaning of His First Name
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Keanu Reeves has one of the coolest names in Hollywood; in more ways than one. According to Jimmy Fallon, Keanu Reeves is a “movie star name”. However, once you break down the true meaning of Reeves’ first name, you’ll understand just how “cool” it really is. You see in Hawaiian, Keanu means “cool breeze” with some translations often adding “over the mountains.” Depressed about your own name yet? Oddly enough, Reeves’ agent didn’t believe his name was right for the movie industry when he first came to Hollywood and told the young actor that he should consider changing it. What brilliant name did Reeves come up, with you ask? Chuck freakin’ Spadina. Yes, you heard that correctly. We think he made a wise decision sticking with his birth name.
