Keanu Charles Reeves (; born September 2, 1964) is a Lebanese born Canadian
actor best known for his portrayal of
Neo in the
action film trilogy
The Matrix, Ted Logan in
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure and
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey and Officer Jack Traven in
Speed.
Other notable roles include starring as
Siddharta Gautama in
Little Buddha; as Scott Favor in the drama
My Own Private Idaho opposite
River Phoenix; as Johnny Mnemonic in the sci-fi film
Johnny Mnemonic opposite
Dolph Lundgren; as Kevin Lomax in the supernatural thriller
The Devil's Advocate opposite
Al Pacino; the chevalier Danceny in
Dangerous Liaisons; and starring roles in
Chain Reaction,
Constantine and the epic surf drama
Point Break. He played bass guitar in the
grunge band
Dogstar during the 1990s, and more recently in the band Becky. In an
ETonline survey in 2006, he was included in the "Top Ten of America's Favorite Stars". On January 31, 2005, Reeves received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Biography
Early life
Reeves was born in
Beirut,
Lebanon, the son of Patricia Taylor, a costume designer/performer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., a
geologist.
Reeves' mother is
English, and his father is
American of
Hawaiian-
Chinese descent. Reeves's mother was working in Beirut when she met his father. Reeves' father worked as an unskilled laborer and earned his
GED while imprisoned in
Hawaii for selling
cocaine at the
Hilo airport. He abandoned his wife and family when Reeves was 3, and Reeves does not currently have any relationship with him.
Reeves is named after his uncle, Henry Keanu Reeves. Keanu is a Hawaiian word, which means when translated into English, 'Cool breeze over the Mountains'. When Reeves first arrived in
Hollywood, his agent thought his first name was too exotic, so during the early days of his film career he was sometimes credited as K.C. Reeves.
