<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Keanu Charles Reeves (b. September 2 1964) is a popular Canadian actor born in Beirut, Lebanon to an English show girl, Patricia Taylor, and American Samuel Nowlin Reeves. Reeves is best known for his role as Neo in The Matrix trilogy as well as appearances in the hit films Speed and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Following the birth of his sister, Kim in 1966, his parents divorced and the family moved to New York City where his mother met and married Paul Aaron. The family ultimately settled in Toronto. His mother divorced in 1971 and remarried to Robert Miller in 1976; they later divorced.

While in school, Reeves focused on sports. He was a goalie for his hockey team and earned the nickname The Wall. He began acting at fifteen, appearing on stage in productions of Romeo and Juliet among other plays. Reeves never graduated from high school, focusing instead on his acting career. He managed a Toronto pasta shop while pursing acting roles on Canadian TV.

Career

Early TV appearances include Night Heat and Brotherhood of Justice. He made his film debut in One Step Away. He was introduced to American audiences alongside Rob Lowe in Youngblood in which he starred as a Hockey goalie. Following the film's release, he left Toronto for Los Angeles. With the help of his former stepfather, Paul Aaron, he acquired an agent and manager, Erwin Stoff.

Reeves made his first genre appearance in Young Again and his breakout role came in River's Edge costarring Crispin Glover. Several teen movies followed in the form of The Night Before, Permanent Record, and Life Under Water. In 1988, he appeared in Dangerous Liasions as Le Chevalier Raphael Danceny. The film also starred John Malkovich and Glenn Close.

In 1989, he starred with Alex Winter in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure as goofy teenagers who travel through history to complete a history report. The film and its sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey typecast Reeves as an unintelligent surfer boy. He chose differing roles throughout the 90s, playing an FBI agent undercover as a surfer in Point Break, the independent film My Own private Idaho, Jonathon Harker in 1992's Dracula and the villainous Don Juan in Much Ado About Nothing.

In 1994, Reeves starred in the blockbuster action film Speed which dramatically increased the profile of Reeves and costar Sandra Bullock. He followed up with Johnny Mnemonic, A Walk in the Clouds, Chain Reaction and Feeling Minnesota. Reeves eschewed a lucrative offer to appear in a sequel to Speed opting instead to appear in The Devil's Advocate. Speed 2 (sans Reeves) proved a box office flop while The Devil's Advocate, which co-starred Al Pacino, was a modest success.

In 1999 Reeves took on the lead role in the scifi action film The Matrix, the film was a huge success and returned Reeves to career heights. In between Matrix sequels, Reeves appeared in Sweet November with Charlize Theron, The Watcher and The Gift. None of the films won the approval of critics or fans. His recent films, Something's Gotta Give and Constantine fared better and other recent roles include the romantic drama The Lake House with Sandra Bullock, Thumbsucker, and A Scanner Darkly with Winona Ryder and Robert Downey Jr..

Genre Roles

• Young Again (1986)
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
• Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
• Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
• Freaked (1993)
• Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
• Chain Reaction (1996)
• The Devil's Advocate (1997)
• The Matrix (1999)
• The Gift (2000)
• The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
• The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
• Constantine (2000)
• A Scanner Darkly (2006)
• The Lake House (2006)
• The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)

External Links

• IMDB Filmography
• Star pulse Bio
• Upcoming TV Schedule by IMDB.com

To see specific information, such as individual movies, please click the Keanu Reeves category link at the bottom of this article. To see other articles that reference Keanu Reeves, please click the What Links Here tool in the toolbox at the bottom of this page.