Keanu Reeves

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Keanu Reeves (2019)

Keanu Charles Reeves [ kiːˈɑːnu ] (born September 2, 1964 in Beirut , Lebanon ) is a Canadian actor , musician ( bassist ), director , author and film producer .

Life

Childhood and youth

Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut. His parents Patricia (née Taylor, costume designer) and Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr. (of Hawaiian-Chinese descent) met in a Beirut nightclub where Patricia worked as a showgirl. She was 19 at the time, he was 21. Keanu Reeves' paternal grandmother is Chinese. He has a biological sister and a half-sister on his mother's side and another half-sister on his father's side.

After stays in Australia, among other places, the family moved to New York , where the father left the family. His mother Patricia "Patric" Reeves married director Paul Aaron , and the family moved to Toronto , Canada, where Keanu's mother divorced after only six months of marriage. Her third husband was promoter Robert Miller, the father of Keanu's half-sister. She later married the hairdresser and journalist Jack Bond. In 1994 this marriage also ended in divorce.

At the age of 15, Reeves attended Theater High School , Jesse Ketchum Public School , later North Toronto Secondary and De La Salle College 'Oaklands' . Due to his lack of discipline, he had to switch high schools four times.

In the High School for the Performing Arts , he took acting lessons and from then on wanted to be an actor. At the age of 17 he finally dropped out of school and initially worked as an ice skate grinder, cook and manager of a pasta shop, as well as a gardener, until he got his first television and theater roles.

Film career

Keanu Reeves at the premiere of Das Haus am See in London in September 2006
Reeves at the premiere of Pippa Lee at the Berlinale 2009

In Toronto, Reeves played mainly Shakespeare plays at the city theater and thus gained stage experience. He had his first television and cinema appearances from 1979 in various low-budget productions . He made his film debut in the Canadian production Dream To Believe , in which he also acquired the Screen Actors Guild Union Card (known as SAG, an acting guild ), without which hardly anyone in the show business could get really good roles. In 1986 he left Canada with $ 3,000, an old Volvo and the address of his stepfather, Paul Aaron. He first played the lead role in The Prince of Pennsylvania as the son of Fred Ward . He made his breakthrough in Hollywood with the role of goofy teen Ted in Bill & Ted's Insane Journey through Time . But it was not until 1994 that he became world-famous as a daring cop in blockbuster speed , which also gave his film partner Sandra Bullock the breakthrough. From then on he received fees in the millions, but remained a thorn in the side of many critics who describe his acting as wooden and expressionless. Hollywood, however, made him one film offer after another. In 1997, Reeves could afford to turn down an 11 million dollar salary offer for Speed ​​2 and instead go on tour with his band Dogstar and play the title role in Hamlet at the Manitoba Theater Center, Winnipeg.

The role of computer hacker Neo in the Matrix trilogy (four Oscars) made him one of the highest paid Hollywood stars in 1999. Will Smith , who was originally favored for this role , had opted for the movie Wild Wild West . Negative criticism of Reeves has since grown sparse. With roles like the brutal redneck in The Gift or the doctor in love in What the Heart Desires , he earned a lot of praise.

At the 62nd International Film Festival in Berlin, Reeves presented his film Side by Side , which received much attention from critics . The documentary deals with the question of the changes that digital technology has brought about in filmmaking. In German-speaking countries, there is an abridged version of this documentation under the title Kino reloaded , which had its television premiere on ServusTV at the end of 2012 . In 2013 Reeves made his directorial debut with the film Man of Tai Chi . The film was shot in China ; Reeves took on the role of antagonist.

In 2014 he experienced another breakthrough in his career with the role of the hit man John Wick in the film of the same name . In 2015 Reeves starred in the adult horror thriller Knock Knock , and in 2016 he played a role in The Neon Demon . In 2017 he again played the role of John Wick in the sequel John Wick: Chapter 2 , in 2019 he again embodied John Wick in the third part of John Wick: Chapter 3 . In a fourth part he should play the main role again. That same year he played a role in the Netflix film Always Be My Maybe , for which he was hailed by the press and fans.

Reeves casts a role in the Pixar animated film A Toy Story: Everything does not stop at any command . In June 2019, he appeared at E3 to promote the game Cyberpunk 2077 , in which he plays a major role. For his performance, Reeves was again celebrated by his fans and the press. The year 2019 is also referred to by many as "The Year of Keanu Reeves".

Reeves has been spoken by Benjamin Völz in German dubbing since 1993 .

Private life

A daughter they shared with Jennifer Syme was stillborn in December 1999, one month before the expected delivery date. Two months later, the couple separated but remained in close contact. In April 2001 Syme died in a car accident.

Reeves had a close friendship with River Phoenix , who died in late October 1993 of a drug overdose. His death was a shock for him that he took many years to cope with.

Reeves is known for his generous philanthropy, humility and down-to-earth attitude. For example, he takes the subway to work.

He has lived in West Hollywood in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles County , California since 2003 , but he also has an apartment in New York . Reeves does not belong to any religion, but was brought up in a Christian way and is very interested in Buddhism . His family is now also active in the film business on the maternal side. His mother Patricia Taylor works as a costume designer and production designer. One of his sisters is an actress, screenwriter and producer; the other also works as a producer.

In November 2019, Reeves made his relationship with artist Alexandra Grant public. At this point in time, the couple had been in a relationship for 3 years, and there had already been joint appearances within the framework of several collaborations: in 2012 and 2016, the two each published a book (see below).

Awards

Reeves' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

In 1992 he was awarded for the role of FBI agent Johnny Utah in Point Break (Engl. "Point Break" ) the Most Desirable Male award and the first of the four MTV -Awards his career. Furthermore, in 1995 the MTV Award for the best film duo went to him and Sandra Bullock. In 1996, MTV honored him again, this time for the best film kiss. In 2000 he received two MTV awards for the best male lead and the best fight scene in The Matrix . The Blockbuster Entertainment Award for the most popular actor in a science fiction film, which is very popular among actors , was also unanimously given to him in 2000. In 2003 he received the Teen Choice Award for The Matrix: Reloaded , during which he learned over 200 martial arts techniques and in 2004 he was finally honored with the Taurus Stunt Award for his performance in the Matrix films.

On January 31, 2005, Reeves received a star with the number 2277 on the famous sidewalk of Hollywood Boulevard, the Hollywood Walk of Fame . There is also a cement cast of his hands in the Planet Hollywood restaurant in Los Angeles.

On November 27, 2008, Reeves was awarded the Bambi in the category of best actor internationally in Offenburg .

music

At the age of 23 Reeves learned to play the bass guitar and became a member of the grunge band Dogstar , founded in 1991 , with which he recorded two albums. The band played among other things as the opening act for Bon Jovi and acted in two films. One of their most famous songs is "Halo". In 2003, Dogstar was temporarily put on hold, and Reeves joined the Becky band project with Dogstar drummer Rob Mailhouse . In February 2005 he left Becky because the band was looking for a record deal . It was to be expected that Reeves' acting career would not be reconciled with an extended tour schedule.

book

His first book, Ode to Happiness , was published by Steidl Verlag in 2012 ( ISBN 978-3-86930-209-6 ). Alexandra Grant contributed some painted pictures to the illustration. The book describes how to deal with difficult times in life and not to take everything so seriously. With the pictures there are also incentives for meditation and reflection.

In 2016 the book Shadows , again a joint project by Grant and Reeves, was published by the same publisher ( ISBN 978-3-86930-827-2 ).

Arch Motorcycle Company

Reeves is an avid motorcyclist. While looking for the ideal bike, in 2007 he met Gard Hollinger, a custom bike designer well-known among experts . A friendship developed from the collaboration and the Arch Motorcycle Company . In 2011, Reeves and Hollinger presented a first prototype.

Filmography (selection)

Documentaries

  • 2006: The Great Warming
  • 2012: Side by Side (German-language abridged version: "Kino reloaded")
  • 2015: Deep Web - The Fall of the Silk Road (Deep Web)

Web series

  • 2009: Easy to Assemble (2nd season, 2nd episode: The Team Building Event)

Music videos

Discography

  • 1996: Dogstar: Quattro Formaggi EP - debut album (Volcano)
  • 1997: Dogstar: Our Little Visionary (Volcano)
  • 2000: Dogstar: Happy Ending (ultimatum)
  • 2003: Compilation : Keanu Reeves Collection (Pioneer)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ NLS Other Writings: Say How, QT - National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) | Library of Congress . In: National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) | Library of Congress . ( loc.gov [accessed September 4, 2017]).
  2. ↑ Cinema : Background article Full of the role: Hollywoods cast carousel issue 02/11, p. 81.
  3. ↑ Keanu Reeves' declaration of love for the cinema. In: Focus . Retrieved February 3, 2013 .
  4. ↑ John Wick 4 Confirmed With a 2021 Release Date. In: variety . Retrieved May 20, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Keanu Reeves owns 2019 - and it's a very excellent adventure. In: CNET . Retrieved June 15, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Article on Spiegel Online. Retrieved August 20, 2013 .
  7. ^ The Famous Actor Who Does Not Want To Be Wealthy . In: TheRichest . ( therichest.com [accessed February 3, 2018]).
  8. ↑ Keanu Reeves & Alexandra Grant: The Truth About Their Love. November 7, 2019, accessed November 8, 2019 .
  9. ^ Arch Motorcycle Company. In: Arch Motorcycle Company website. 2012, accessed December 22, 2012 .

Web links

Commons : Keanu Reeves  - Collection of Images
personal data
SURNAME Reeves, Keanu
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Reeves, Keanu Charles (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian actor, musician (bassist), director, book author and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd September 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Beirut , Lebanon