Things You Didn’t Know About Keanu Reeves
[ads1 id=”alignright”]Keany Reeves is among the most well-known an appreciated actors in Hollywood. Born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1964, Keanu has always been interested in acting and showing his artistic side.
Even though it wasn’t until 1986 that he finally got his big break into the movie industry, Keanu made the most of it, and hasn’t left the big screen ever since.
Most people know Keanu for his performances in The Matrix triology, Speed, and The Devil’s Advocate, but his personal life is far more interesting than his professional one. Did you know, for example, that his first name means ‘cool breeze over the mountains’ in Hawaiian? If you didn’t, then take a few moments to learn some other interesting facts about Keanu Reeves.
- He was the manager of a pasta shop in Toronto. When he was younger, Keanu did his share of odd jobs, one of which being that of a manager for a pretty successful pasta shop in Toronto.
- He was once chosen as one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world. This happened in 1995, when Keanu was a deemed as one of the most promising young actors in Hollywood. It was ‘People’ magazine who gave him the title, which is understandable considering how good looking Keanu is / was.
- He dropped out of school to become an actor. When he was just 17 years old, Keanu dropped out of high school to pursue a career in acting, a choice that time would prove to be a very wise one.
- He absolutely loves ballroom dancing. Some people would see this as an offense to their ‘macho’ persona, but not Keanu. He says that he is a very big fan of ballroom dancing and enjoys every minute of it.
- He enjoys surfing and horseback riding. Interestingly enough, Keanu developed a soft spot for surfing after his role in Point Break, and the same goes for horseback riding. Every time Keanu learns a new skill on the set of a movie he films, he starts doing it in his day-to-day life.
- He was voted by Empire magazine as one of the ‘Top 100 movie stars of all time’. This happened in 1997, when Keanu was getting all sorts of international praise and acclaim for his roles.
- He was an MVP for his high school’s hockey team. Although Keanu’s current affiliation with hockey isn’t what it used to be, back in his high school days, he was an extremely talented goalie, and an essential part of his high school’s hockey team. He was actually nicknamed ‘the wall’ because of his extraordinary keeping skills.
- He is named after his uncle Henry Keanu Reeves. The name Keanu is a derivation from the name of his great-great-uncle Keaweaheulu, a name which means ‘the soft breeze raising’ in Hawaiian.
- He had a very interesting father. His father was basically a geologist, but this isn’t all he was. For instance, he was once arrested and served two years in prison for selling heroin at an airport in 1992.
- He has an abdominal scar that he got while riding a motorcycle. There’s a quite interesting story behind this. Kean was once performing a ‘demon ride’ on his motorcycle when he ran into the side of the mountain, breaking his spleen and two ribs. For those of you who are unaware, a demon ride is when you ride a motorcycle at night with no headlights.
- He has a Canadian passport. Not only that, but Keanu also has a Canadian citizenship that he is quite proud of.
- He dropped out of ‘Speed 2: Cruise Control’. Keanu was initially on board with the whole project and had even made arrangements about filming for it. During last hour, however, Keanu dropped out of the project and thank God he did it. The movie ended up being a pretty big failure at Box Office after all.
- He agreed to a 90% pay cut for his role in ‘The Replacements’. He did this so actor Gene Hackman could be cast. Keanu actually has a history of this. Just a few years prior to that, he agreed to a $2 million pay cut in order for Al Pacino to be cast in ‘The Devil’s Advocate’.
- He appeared in three movies containing the names of US States. He appeared in ‘The Prince of Pennsylvania’ in 1998, ‘My Own Private Idaho’ in 1991, and ‘Feeling Minnesota’ in 1996. Also, his character in ‘Point Break’ is called John Utah.
- He has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. After years of artistic excellence, Keanu Reeves was finally given a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 2005.
- He is dyslexic. Unfortunately, Keanu has real problems with reading and writing things, although this didn’t seem to affect his acting career very much.
- He speaks French. This is pretty self-explanatory.
- He is a big fan of Formula 1 and IndyCar racing. Keanu’s love for speed isn’t reduced only to motorcycles. He also enjoys following racing events whenever he gets the chance.
- He could have been a professional hockey player but decided to be an actor instead.
- He is a good friend to Sandra Bullock. Keanu and Sandra kept in touch after filming 1994 movie ‘Speed’, and they have a pretty strong bond. He was also among the guests of Sandra’s wedding in 2005.
- He used an alias during his early days in Hollywood. His agent at the time thought that Keanu’s name was to exotic and advised him to use an alias. As a result, Keanu would always introduce himself as K.C. Reeves, Norman Kreeves, or Chuck Spadina.
