Keanu Reeves is a musician, actor, producer, and philanthropist with a $380 million net worth. He has acted in dozens of movies throughout the years, some of which have grossed billions of dollars at the box office.
He is likely best known for the John Wick and The Matrix movie series.
Early Life
Keanu On September 2, 1964, Charles Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon. His father Samuel is from Hawaii, while his mother Patricia is from Essex, England. When Reeves’ mother was employed as a costume designer in Beirut, she met his father.
After his father abandoned the family when he was just three years old, they traveled much during his early years with his mother, but they eventually settled in Toronto and obtained Canadian citizenship in 1971.
Due to his dyslexia, Reeves’ academic performance plummeted. He got kicked out of numerous high schools. He made up for his poor grades, though, by succeeding as a goalie for his high school hockey team.
Reeves quit playing hockey and going to school to pursue an acting career after appearing in a school production of Romeo and Juliet and realizing how much he loved performing.
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Early Career
Reeves first appeared on the big screen in 1986’s Youngblood after beginning his career with modest parts in Canadian television productions, advertisements, and several stage productions.
Later, he was cast in other co-starring roles, including a more significant one in the critically praised film River’s Edge. With the 1989 big hit Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which brought in over $40 million domestically, Reeves unexpectedly found success at the box office.
After that, Reeves appeared in a variety of movies, both mainstream and independent, such as the drama Point Break and the blockbuster indie My Own Private Idaho.
Success
With the triumph of the 1994 action movie Speed, which won two Academy Awards and made a combined $350.5 million at the domestic and international box office, Reeves was catapulted into A-list stardom.
Reeves enjoyed more popularity as the lead in the sci-fi action trilogy The Matrix, which earned $1.6 billion in total. His performance as Neo got positive reviews and accolades, and the films were hugely successful.
In the 2014 action film “John Wick,” Reeves got the lead part as the movie’s titular character, in which he played a former hitman. Both the critical and commercial success of the films cannot be understated.
He then appeared in two more films in the same capacity. More than $500 million has been made at the movie office thanks to his John Wick franchise. Keanu’s films have, as of this writing, adjusted for inflation, brought in more than $4.6 billion at the global box office.
The first Keanu Reeves film festival in Europe, “KeanuCon,” took place in Glasgow, Scotland in 2019. Over the course of the two days, April 27 and 28, nine of his films were shown.
Keanu Reeves Earnings from The Matrix
After Will Smith declined the job of Neo in The Matrix, Keanu was cast in the role. His initial compensation was to be $10 million.
Additionally, he received a portion of the backend, which contributed to the first movie’s $35 million in total earnings due to its unexpected popularity.
That is equivalent to almost $53 million now (after inflation). Warner Bros. revealed the fourth Matrix movie in August 2019.
Keanu’s backend bonuses would eventually make him the highest-paid actor of all time for a single franchise thanks to DVD sales (The Matrix was one of the best-selling DVDs of all time) and the second and third movies massive box office successes.
From the second and third films, Keanu received bonuses totaling at least $120 million. As of this writing, his total compensation from The Matrix exceeds $200 million.
Highlights of Keanu Reeves’s Salary
When he made his acting debut in Youngblood in 1986, Keanu only made $3000. For his part in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, he received $95,000. Speed from 1994 brought about $1.2 million for him.
That is equivalent to about $2 million after inflation. He declined an offer of $11 million to take part in the Speed 2 movie. He said that he was on tour with his band and so unreachable.
For Johnny Mnemonic, he received $2 million, and for The Devil’s Advocate, he received $8 million.
Personal Life
On December 24, 1999, Reeves’ longtime girlfriend Jennifer Syme gave birth to their stillborn daughter, Ava Archer Syme-Reeves. Their relationship was impacted by the tragedy, and a few weeks later they separated.
Syme was killed instantly in an automobile accident in April 2001. Reeves wanted some time to process the incident before he started filming The Matrix sequels, which were set to start at the same time.
He dated China Chow in 2008. He has never been married and is infamous for keeping his personal relationships private. Reeves claims to be spiritual even though he is not religious and has an interest in Buddhism.
In 2014, two stalkers broke into Keanu’s Hollywood Hills house. On September 12, he was awakened by a stalker in his library who claimed she was waiting for him. He quietly spoke to her before dialing the cops.
Three days later, Reeves’ housekeepers left a gate unlocked, allowing a second stalker access to his house. The stalker showered and changed in his bathroom before swimming in his pool while undressed.
Although Reeves wasn’t at home at the time, the cleaning staff called the police, who then got rid of the stalker. Reeves established a cancer foundation, but he opted not to give it his name. He backs the SickKids Foundation, Stands up to Cancer, and PETA.
Regarding his extracurricular activities, Reeves spent a significant amount of time in the 1990s playing bass guitar with the band Dogstar. He also co-founded Arch Motorcycle Company, a business that creates bespoke motorcycles, and he is a passionate motorcycle rider.
He also helped start Firm Films, a production company. Reeves founded the independent publishing house X Artists’ Books. Ode to Happiness and Shadows are two works he wrote himself.
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Conclusion
Keanu Reeves has made a name for himself as one of the greatest actors of all time over the last 30 years. Despite having a long history of acting in indie films, the actor immediately became well-known for his amazing talent.
Keanu Reeves is one of the most well-known performers of all time because of how highly people regard his acting abilities.
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