It’s hard to find an actor with a more diverse career than Keanu Reeves. Since making his name as a quirky young lead in the ’80s, Reeves has followed his cinematic muse across genres. His films have ranged from blockbuster comedies like "Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure" to hit action thrillers like "Speed", "John Wick", and "Point Break", as well as dramatic showcases like "Dangerous Liaisons" and "My Own Private Idaho".
The actor is not only famous for his multi-talented, and his good looks but also for his kind heart. He is a legend both on and off the screen, so there are plenty of interesting stories about
Keanu Reeves from the cast and crew. From the smallest errands to the way he views life and his career, Reeves seems to approach everything a little differently.
Keanu Reeves's one of the last remaining true superstars that you want to look away from. And these stories prove that if you keep an eye on Reeves, you'll be rewarded with something interesting.
#1 To give the crew more money, Reeves signed away millions in "Matrix" residuals
Source: The Matrix / Warner Bros.
After "The Matrix" became an international mega-hit, Reeves unexpectedly found himself with more money than he knew what to do with. Instead of saving the money or lavishly spending it, Reeves donated it back to the below-the-line crew. According to rumors, he gave up the opportunity to participate in the multi-million dollar sales of the sequel to provide more funding for the skins and special effects team. The actor not only didn't do it for the limelight; he deliberately sought to prevent any attention from the incident. Reeves said, "I’d rather people didn’t know that. It was a private transaction. It was something I could afford to do, a worthwhile thing to do.”
#2 In preparation for "John Wick: Chapter 2," he brought his prop guns home to practice.
Source: Lionsgate
John Wick, the titular protagonist of "John Wick", is an assassin whose mere mention instills dread in the hearts of his murderous contemporaries. Reeves spent three months in action-star boot camp to play such a well-trained murderer. Moreover, he continued to practice his talents even at home. He brought an arm back to his home to continue his training. Reeves said, “Basically just take the gun home, start walking around, practice spying rooms, practice your draws. And with John Wick, it’s practicing your reloads, transitions from weapon to weapon, footwork, and then kind of coming up with the John Wick style.”
#3 When filming "Bram Stoker's Dracula," the actor refused the director's request to bully Winona Ryder.
Source: Columbia Pictures
When filming a scene in "Bram Stoker's Dracula", Winona Ryder was having trouble crying. So the director, Francis Ford Coppola, started yelling abuses at her to hopefully get her to sob. After that didn't work, Coppola tried to get the male actors on set to join in. Ryder said, "Francis was trying to get all of them to yell things that would make me cry. But Keanu wouldn’t; Anthony wouldn’t. It just didn’t work. I was like, really? It kind of did the opposite.”
#4 For "Point Break," Reeves trained with the "Surf Doctor of Hollywood" to make his surfing seem authentic.
Source: 20th Century Fox
Learning to surf is not easy, especially when training under a tight deadline to look like an expert surfer. Fortunately for Reeves, he could learn from the self-described Surf Doctor of Hollywood, Dennis Jarvis. This surf instructor expressed his delight at spending time with the actors, adding, "It was like a big surf party every day. The cast would report to my house in Hermosa Beach at the crack of dawn to try to absorb the soulful lifestyle of a surfer." While it doesn't matter that Reeves' character looks good on a surfboard, it's Reeves who enjoys surfing the most. Reeves even had a bespoke board made by The Surf Doctor himself so he could pursue his new pastime once the movie was over.
#5 "Scorn" was the original working title for "John Wick," but Reeves kept forgetting it in interviews
Source: Lionsgate
The film was initially going to be called "Scorn," not after its murderous protagonist. "The only reason it's called John Wick is that Keanu kept referring to it as John Wick," said the film's screenwriter. In interviews, Keanu had been calling it by the wrong title. But nobody is angry with Reeves because even the writer now admits that John Wick is a better name for the movie and the series.
#6 For "Siberia," he spent weeks learning the correct way to pick up a diamond
Source: Saban Films
Reeves is said to have had to practice for weeks to be able to pick up the diamond with tweezers as skillfully as his character could do. The director of "Siberia" said, "I would challenge anyone to do that properly after a month. It’s one of these deceptively, unbelievably difficult things to do. Keanu spent weeks practicing." He continued, "People spend years perfecting that craft. Keanu had to figure it out in three weeks, but he doesn’t take shortcuts."
#7 While recuperating from a herniated disc, Reeves had to attend martial arts training for "The Matrix"
Source: Warner Bros.
"The Matrix" is known for its kung fu just as much as it is for its sci-fi set pieces. However, that kung fu training got off to a rough start. As it turned out, Reeves had to wear a neck brace on his first day of Matrix training because of a herniated disc. Although it is clear that he and his team survived training and went on to produce a smashing success, his neck did continue to trouble him during the months of preparation.
#8 Reeves had to learn a lot of fight choreography on the spot while filming "John Wick: Chapter 3"
Source: Lionsgate
While it takes months of preparation and training to become John Wick, it seems that not all of the fight choreography needed for "John Wick: Chapter 3" was planned. Reeves said that "This one has the least amount of choreography finished before I go to fight. When I did the fight with Common, that fight was choreographed. I don't have that, so I kind of learn them - and if I do, I get it the day before or the day of. The choreography I did today, I learned today. So, we make sh*t up on the day."
#9 The actor had an exorcist help him in preparing for his role in "Constantine"
Source: Warner Bros.
“There were no paranormal events that took place in the film that I know of. Thank God!” Reeves said when referring to the filming of "Constantine". Although spiritual conflict isn't typically a problem on movie sets, "Constantine" is about an occult detective who battles demons, so the worries might not be entirely unfounded. Reeves went to an exorcist to learn from him. He said, "I went with an exorcist for a bit. I just want to know really practical things, like how do you hold someone possessed by the devil."
#10 To rehearse a dance scene from "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure", Reeves went to Stevie Nicks's home
Source: Orion Pictures
Anyone who has seen "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" knows that it has a large cast and takes place in many different eras. One of the scenes that were not included in the film was an elaborate dance performed by the boys as they waited for the bus. What's even more interesting is that Reeves and co-star Alex Winter rehearsed the scene at Stevie Nicks' private dance studio at her residence in Arizona. According to Winter, the young actors are terrible dancers, so to complete the shoot, they "rehearsed this number for weeks in, of all places, Stevie Nicks’s house in Phoenix. Because for some reason, Stevie Nicks had a full ballet studio in her desert ranch house, with a full ballet barre and mirrors and wood floors - literally the whole thing."
#11 He gave meticulous notes to highlight his cameo in "Always Be My Maybe"
Source: Netflix
"Always Be My Maybe" is a love story written by and starring Ali Wong and Randall Park. But Reeves was reportedly instantly on board to play a satirical version of himself for the movie. The director of the film, Nahnatchka Khan, said, "We were talking about the character, and he just had so many fun ideas and pitches that we went back and revised the script with those in mind.” Khan said that Reeves even took backup copies of his lines to the set and a few of those alts even made it into the film.
#12 In "Speed," Reeves performed the stunts himself
Source: 20th Century Fox
Reeves had only appeared in one action picture before "Speed" began production, so he was more than a bit nervous to be performing stunts when filming. In "Speed", a bus is rigged to blow up if its speed ever drops below 50 miles per hour. Making such a movie required a lot of commitment from actors as well as stuntmen - but at first, Reeves wasn't so sure. One of the stunts that Reeves didn't want to do was stepping from one bus to another car, but the director made him do it. The director recalled "[Reeves] said, 'It's way too dangerous,' and I told him it was basically like stepping onto an escalator. You just move up."
#13 After the trailer had already come out, the actor agreed to voice a cat in "Keanu"
Source: Warner Bros.
While Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele were filming the long-running comedy "Keanu," the studio involved asked the comedy duo to bring Keanu Reeves on board. The two contacted Reeves' representatives, who politely declined their request. Reeves' sister reportedly watched the teaser after it was published and urged the actor he needs to find a way to get involved with it. According to the director, Reeves personally reached out before officially agreeing to do the part just to ensure that the joke wasn't on Reeves himself. Though the movie was about finished, the director found a place to insert Reeves's voice as a cameo.
#14 Instead of creating a stir, Reeves waited outside the "Daughter of God/Exposed" wrap party for 20 minutes in the rain
Source: Lionsgate
Reeves seemed determined to break the stereotype of the diva actor. He has an unusually gentle voice and doesn't seem to like upsetting others in any way. A New York driver was sitting in the front row next to Reeves when he saw the actor standing outside a New York club, soaking wet in the rain, while waiting to enter the after-party mine. The chauffeur thought Reeves hadn't even mentioned his identity to the bouncer. Once inside, he maintains his kind personality by detecting and returning someone's lost credit card.
#15 He bought a Rolex watch and a 'Death Count' t-shirt for the stunt team of "John Wick: Chapter 4"
Source: Lionsgate
Following the completion of the "John Wick: Chapter 4" filming in France in October 2021, Reeves purchased personalized Rolex watches for the stunt team. Four stuntmen – Bruce Concepcion, Jeremy Marinas, Dave Camarillo, and Li Qiang – received Rolex Submariner watches with messages from Reeves engraved inside. Marinas shared a photo of his watch on Instagram with this message: “The John Wick Five. Jeremy Thank you Keanu JW4 2021.” Marinas captioned one of the images “Best wrap gift ever.” Before the premiere of the film in March 2023, it was reported that Reeves also gave members of his stunt crew t-shirts that read their "dead count," or count of times. they were killed on screen by John Wick.
#16 When filming "Constantine," Reeves held Rachel Weisz underwater.
Source: Warner Bros.
Weisz spoke on the scene, saying it was "really scary" because "Keanu was holding [her] down by the neck," and that there's a moment in a scene like that where "you're not acting anymore, and you're thinking, 'I really need to get out of this bath, otherwise I'm gonna die.'" Weisz said she was instructed to tap Reeves three times on the wrist if she was in trouble, but in all of that mayhem, she felt it would have been hard to accurately communicate that to him as opposed to her just "thrashing about."