HOW A TRAGIC LIFE FOR KEANU SHAPED HIM INTO A HUMBLE SUPERSTAR

Keanu Reeves has played a variety of iconic roles throughout his career. Whether it’s Neo in The Matrix or his performance in the John Wick trilogy, the actor has experienced an abundance of rightfully earned success. Although, this success often arose in the midst of tragedy and hardships, taking many different forms throughout his life and initially beginning at a very young age.

When Keanu was young, his father left the family due to trouble with drugs and alcohol. Over the following years, he had multiple step-fathers while moving around various cities for his mother’s costume designing work. After living in Sydney and New York, rotating through four different high schools over the course of 5 years, Keanu’s family settled down in Toronto, where he began to establish his natural talent for hockey.

After staring in various films such as ‘Youngblood’, ‘River’s Edge’, and the iconic Bill And Ted movies, tragedy struck Keanu when his co-star on ‘My Own Private Idaho’, River Phoenix, died of drug intoxication. Though despite the loss, the actor continued to feature in movies throughout the 90s, all while dealing with his sister’s leukaemia diagnosis.

In 1999, Keanu featured in one of his most well-known films: The Matrix. The young actor was also partnered with Jennifer Syme at the time, who was pregnant with his child. Though despite these exciting occasions, the year ended with the loss of his unborn daughter. The couple split soon after and in 2001, Jennifer lost her life in a car accident.

Despite these challenging, life-shaking events, the actor hasn’t let them consume him. After all of this, Keanu is still known as one of the nicest, most generous men in Hollywood. He is praised for his large donations to children’s hospitals and cancer research, particularly due to his sister’s diagnosis. He accomplishes this through the work of his own, private foundation.

Keanu is well-known among his colleagues as a friendly presence to work alongside, always striving to genuinely learn the names of everyone on set. In fact on one occasion, he purchased the entire special effects team on the Matrix a Harley, each. On top of this, he has also sacrificed portions of his salary to ensure other members of the team are paid.

Keanu’s genuine kindness is proven by how he carries himself off-screen and in his day to day life. He’s been spotted on numerous occasions in public, willingly performing simple acts of kindness, whether it’s by giving-away his seat on the subway or sharing a snack with a homeless man on the street.

Just earlier this year, another tale of Keanu’s generosity caught attention. Following the emergency landing of his plane in California, rather than going his own way, Keanu stuck around, took photos with the passengers, and even went as far to organise a fleet of vans to get fellow travellers to their destinations. It doesn’t end here. The actor then journeyed with the passengers to their locations, entertaining them along the way.

Despite the undeniable hardships the actor has endured over the course of his life, Keanu Reeves projects nothing but positivity into the many lives he encounters. Keanu has rightfully earned his reputation as one of the nicest men in Hollywood.

-rbjs