31 Extraordinary Facts About Keanu Reeves We Bet You Didn’t Know Before

Since the mid 1980s, Keanu Reeves had played a very big role in the Hollywood industry. Famously known as most down-to-earth, generous and humble actor, he is even jokingly referred to as immortal, what with no sign of him aging. His action thrillers have been all time block -busters and his performances are always nothing but the best exceeding all expectations. Here are a few important things that you may have missed in all his years of screen presence.

1. Besides his acting career, he is known for his philanthropic activities, especially for his support to cancer charities. He supported Stand Up to Cancer, and even set up his own cancer charity, but decided not to attach his name to it.
2. It was reported that he agreed to star in “The Watcher” just verbally, after reading the original script, several years before the production commenced. With his name attached to the project, the filmmakers attracted a bigger cast and budget. His part was also re-written to feature him more prominently.
3. For his directorial debut “Man of Tai Chi,” he had a very hard time in finding a suitable mask that he would like to use. He reportedly tried many, but was not happy with any of it. However, when the “black one” which can be seen in the movie was presented to him by costume designer Joseph Porro, he was very happy with it.
4. To prepare for his unforgettable role of John Wick, in the series’ first movie, he underwent a rigorous training regime, for eight hours per day for nearly four months. The training included weapons as well as martial arts.
5. In the 1999 movie “The Matrix,” for the scene in which Neo and Morpheus has a cell phone conversation in the Meta Cortex office, he reportedly climbed up the window without using a stunt double, which was 34 floors up.
6. During the filming of “The Gift,” he and his on-screen wife Hilary Swank, reportedly went to local spousal abuse counselors, in an effort to understand why men abuse their wives and also the reason for the wives to still stay with them.
7. Reeves cannot be seen kicking much in the movie “The Matrix,” as he was still recovering from neck surgery for a two-level fusion of his cervical spine that caused paralysis in his legs.
8. Although he was requested to rest, he trained very hard even on days off and practiced with Woo-Ping Yuen for four months. Still, he was not able to kick, due to which his kick sequences in the movie was cut short.
9. For the 2008 movie “Street Kings” in which he played the character of Detective Tom Ludlow, he reportedly did all of his own stunts with no stunt doubles used for not even a single fight sequence.
10. In preparation for his role as Jack in “Speed,” he spent two months at Gold’s Gym in Los Angeles to get in shape. He also trained with real S.W.A.T. personnel to perfect his movements. He reportedly did ninety percent of his own stunts in this movie.
11. Just as he was cast in his first action movie “Point Break,” he went to Hawaii to learn surfing, and trained for two months with former world class professional surfer Dennis Jarvis. Reeves practiced football with the UCLA quarterback coaches and also in preparation for the role of Johnny Utah, observed the F.B.I agents in the Los Angeles.
12. In the fight sequence with two Shinobi in the “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” Reeves was supposed to get straight back up, after getting knocked down, but he actually stumbled on the day. He was too tired from shooting, but he managed to play it off as a comedic beat, which can be seen in the final movie.
13. Once in an interview, his “Destination Wedding” co-star Winona Ryder claimed that she might actually be married to Reeves for more than two decades, as they had a used a real Romanian Orthodox priest, for filming the marriage scene in their previous movie “Bram Stoker’s Dracula.”
14. For the movie “Exposed,” he was first intended to play Detective Galban, as a supportive character, but Lionsgate decided to have the story focus on his character, an during editing the required changes were made to focus on him rather than the female lead.
15. Due to his neck surgery, he was not able to perform the triple kicks scene in “The Matrix,” to his satisfaction, and requested the scene to be postponed for a few days. The scene was actually very difficult and had all the actors getting bruised.
16. Reeves was very frustrated with himself for not be able to perform to his expectation and practiced too hard. Woo-Ping Yen altered the choreography a little, and after a few days, he successfully shot the triple kicks scene to his satisfaction in just three takes.
17. The scene of his character “Jack” in the beginning of the 1994 movie “Speed,” breaking the glass on bus door, was actually an accident, but since it turned out well, it was left in the final cut.
18. To prepare for his role in “John Wick: Chapter 2,” he underwent three months training, consisting of judo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, marksmanship and driving. For the next movie “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum,” he trained for four months in more styles of martial arts, motorcycles, horses and also dogs.
19. Talking about his performance in the “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” he claimed that he was not really happy, and that he had not given his best, but just what was left to give, since he was exhausted from making several movies just before this one.
20. During the filming of the 2005 movie “Constantine,” he reportedly bought the Holy Shotgun prop and wanted to gift it to director Francis Lawrence.
21. It was reported that, just for “The Matrix” movie scene in which his character Neo wakes up in a pod, Reeves went on a strict diet and lost around fifteen pounds. He even shaved his whole body to give Neo an emaciated look.
22. He was in a relationship with Jennifer Syme from 1998, who gave birth to his child Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, eight months into her pregnancy. The child was also stillborn.
23. The duo’s relationship was grief strained and announced their breakup in early 2000. Syme met with an accident on April 2, 2001, and died instantly.
24. In the movie “John Wick: Chapter 2,” he performed nearly 95% of the stunts, except for the ones in which John Wick is hit by a car and also the one in which he falls down the stairs, while fighting Cassian.
25. For the promotion of the movie “Something’s Gotta Give,” a large picture of Reeves was included in the movie posters to be displayed in Japan, in an effort to take advantage of his popularity there. However, the American Poster featured only Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton.
26. He filmed all of his scenes for “Always Be My Maybe,” within just 4 days, while simultaneously shooting “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.” In fact his scenes were shot in San Francisco instead of Vancouver.
27. During the filming of “Bill & Ted Face the Music,” in the neighborhood of Louisiana, he once noticed a sign on a lawn that read “You’re breathtaking.” He autographed the sign, and even visited the family to whom the sign belonged, and posed for a photo with them.
28. The famous top-level nightclub fight sequence in the “John Wick” movie was actually shot when Reeves had to flu, running a 104° Fahrenheit fever. He reportedly learned and memorized the entire sequence only on the day of filming.
29. Being a motorcycle enthusiast, he co-founded a motorcycle company – Arch Motorcycles with Gard Hollinger. The company specializes in creating high-end custom motorcycles.
30. During the filming of 2016 movie “The Bad Batch,” he was frequently spotted at public spots like Starbucks and Snap Fitness in Brawley, California. He was often seen taking pictures with locals or sometimes even re-enacting his famous scenes from different movies.
31. Keanu Reeves Net Worth: $360 Million