Keanu Reeves

Actors

Keanu Charles Reeves (born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor, author, comic book writer, director, and musician. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, Reeves grew up in Toronto. He began acting in theatre productions, and in television films before making his mainstream film debut in Youngblood (1986). He had a supporting role in Stephen Frears‘ Dangerous Liaisons (1988), with Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Mildred Natwick, Peter Capaldi, and Uma Thurman. He gained recognition in his breakthrough role as Ted “Theodore” Logan in the science fiction comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989), with Alex Winter and George Carlin.

This was followed by a supporting role in Ron Howard‘s comedy Parenthood (1989), Steve Martin, Tom Hulce, Rick Moranis, Martha Plimpton, Joaquin Phoenix (credited Leaf), Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, and Dianne Wiest; Lawrence Kasdan‘s I Love You to Death (1990), with Kevin Kline, Tracey Ullman, Joan Plowright, River Phoenix, and William Hurt; Kathryn Bigelow‘s Point Break (1991), with Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty and Gary Busey, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991), and Gus Van Sant‘s independent drama My Own Private Idaho (1991), with River Phoenix, where playing a street hustler received critical praise for his performance. He had a supporting role in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Cary Elwes, Tom Waits, and Anthony Hopkins (which was nominated for four Academy Awards); and Much Ado About Nothing (1993), with Kenneth Branagh (who also directed), Emma Thompson, Robert Sean Leonard, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton, Kate Beckinsale, and Brian Blessed.

The action thriller Speed (1994), with Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, and Jeff Daniels; in which Reeves was cast as a police officer, garnered critical and commercial success, and helped Reeves gain further recognition. He followed this with a series of films box office failures, including: Johnny Mnemonic (1995), with with Dolph Lundgren, Takeshi Kitano, Ice-T, and Dina Meyer; Chain Reaction (1996), with Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Fred Ward, Kevin Dunn and Brian Cox; and The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997), with Thomas Jane, Adrien Brody, Gretchen Mol, and Claire Forlani. However, his performance in the supernatural horror The Devil’s Advocate (1997), with Al Pacino and Charlize Theron; was well received.

Global stardom followed soon after with his lead role as computer hacker Neo in The Wachowskis science fiction thriller The Matrix (1999), with Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano. The film was a commercial success and won four Academy Awards, although its sequels, Reloaded and Revolutions (both in 2003) were met with a mixed reception.

Other notable films in the 2000s include The Replacements (2000), with Gene Hackman, Orlando Jones, Rhys Ifans, Jon Favreau, and Jack Warden; Sam Raimi‘s The Gift (2000), with Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, and J.K. Simmons; Hardball (2001), with Diane Lane and Michael B. Jordan (in one of his first roles); and Something’s Gotta Give (2003), with Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Frances McDormand, Amanda Peet, and Favreau.

Notable films in the mid 2000s include Constantine (2005), with Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Djimon Hounsou, Gavin Rossdale, and Peter Stormare; Thumbsucker (2005), with Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vincent D’Onofrio, Kelli Garner, Benjamin Bratt, and Vince Vaughn. Richard Linklater‘s animated film A Scanner Darkly (2006), with Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, and Ryder; The Lake House (2006), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), with with Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, John Cleese, Jon Hamm, and Kathy Bates; Street Kings (2008), with Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Common and The Game; Rebecca Miller‘s The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), with Robin Wright, Alan Arkin, Maria Bello, Monica Bellucci, Blake Lively, Julianne Moore, and Ryder. In 2013, he made his directorial debut with Man of Tai Chi. Although he was praised for his direction, the film was a box-office bomb.

In 2014, Reeves played the titular assassin in the neo-noir action thriller John Wick, which was a commercial success and was generally well-received. He returned to the John Wick franchise in the commercially successful sequels, John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).

He also starred in Knock Knock (2015) and narrated two documentaries, Deep Web (directed by Winter) and Mifune: The Last Samurai. 2016 saw Reeves star in five films, including The Neon Demon, The Bad Batch, and The Whole Truth. He also starred in a web television series Swedish Dicks. In 2019, Reeves voiced Duke Caboom in Toy Story 4 (2019). Besides acting, he played bass guitar for the band Dogstar and pursued other endeavours such as writing and philanthropy.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Letting Go (1985) – directed by Jack Bender – TV movie
One Step Away (1985) – directed by Robert Fortier – short
Youngblood (1986) – directed, co-produced, and co-written by Peter Markle
Act of Vengeance (1986) – directed by John Mackenzie – TV movie
Young Again (1986) – directed by Steven Hilliard Stone – TV movie
Flying (1986) – directed by Paul Lynch
The Brotherhood of Justice (1986) – directed by Charles Braverman – TV movie
River’s Edge (1986) – directed by Tim Hunter
Under the Influence (1986) – directed by Thomas Carter – TV movie
Babes in Toyland (1986) – directed by Clive Donner – TV movie
The Night Before (1988) – directed by Thom Eberhardt
Permanent Record (1988) – directed by Marisa Silver
The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988) – directed by Ron Nyswaner
Dangerous Liaisons (1988) – directed by Stephen Frears
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) – directed by Stephen Herek
Life Under Water (1989) – directed by Jay Holman – TV movie
Parenthood (1989) – by Ron Howard
I Love You to Death (1990) – directed by Lawrence Kasdan
Tune in Tomorrow (1990) – directed by Jon Amiel
Point Break (1991) – directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991) – directed by Peter Hewitt
My Own Private Idaho (1991) – directed by Gus Van Sant
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) – directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Much Ado About Nothing (1993) – directed by Kenneth Branagh
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993) – directed by Gus Van Sant
Freaked (1993) – directed by Tom Stern & Alex Winter – uncredited cameo
Little Buddha (1993) – directed by Bernardo Bertolucci
Speed (1994) – directed by Jan de Bont
Johnny Mnemonic (1995) – directed by Robert Longo
A Walk in the Clouds (1995)* – directed by Alfonso Arau
Chain Reaction (1996) – directed by Andrew Davis
Feeling Minnesota (1996) – directed by Steven Baigelman
The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997) – directed by Stephen T. Kay
The Devil’s Advocate (1997) – directed by Taylor Hackford
The Matrix (1999)** – directed by The Wachowskis
Me and Will (1999) – directed by Melissa Behr & Sherrie Rose – uncredited cameo as himself
The Replacements (2000)* – directed by Howard Deutch
The Watcher (2000) – directed by Joe Charbanic
The Gift (2000) – directed by Sam Raimi
Sweet November (2001) – directed by Pat O’Connor
Hardball (2001) – directed by Brian Robbins
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) – directed by The Wachowskis
The Animatrix (2003) – directed by Kōji Morimoto, Shinichiro Watanabe, Mahiro Maeda, Peter Chung, Andy Jones, Yoshiaki Kawajiri, & Takeshi Koike – anthology
The Matrix Revolutions (2003)* – directed by The Wachowskis
Something’s Gotta Give (2003)* – directed by Nancy Meyers
Constantine (2005) – directed by Francis Lawrence
Thumbsucker (2005) – directed by Mike Mills
Ellie Parker (2005) – directed by Scott Coffey
A Scanner Darkly (2006) – directed by Richard Linklater
The Lake House (2006) – directed by Alejandro Agresti
The Great Warming (2006) – directed by Michael Taylor – narrator – documentary
Street Kings (2008) – directed by David Ayer
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) – directed by Scott Derrickson
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) – directed by Rebecca Miller
Henry’s Crime (2010) – directed by Malcolm Venville
Side by Side (2012) – directed by Christopher Kenneally – also producer – documentary
Generation Um… (2012) – directed by Mark L Mann
Man of Tai Chi (2013) – also director
47 Ronin (2013)* – directed by Carl Rinsch
John Wick (2014) – directed by Chad Stahelski
Knock Knock (2015) – directed by Eli Roth – also executive producer
Deep Web (2015) – directed by Alex Winter – narrator – documentary
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2015) – directed by Steven Okazaki – narrator – documentary
Exposed (2016) – directed by Gee Malik Linton (credited as Declan Dale) – also producer
Keanu (2016)* – directed by Peter Atencio – voice cameo
The Neon Demon (2016) – directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
The Bad Batch (2016) – directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
The Whole Truth (2016) – directed by Courtney Hunt
To the Bone (2017) – directed by Marti Noxon
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)* – directed by Chad Stahelski
A Happening of Monumental Proportions (2017) – directed by Judy Greer – cameo
SPF-18 (2017) – directed by Alex Israel – cameo as himself
Siberia (2018) – directed by Matthew Ross – also producer
Destination Wedding (2018) – directed by Victor Levin
Replicas (2018) – directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff – also producer
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019)* – directed by Chad Stahelski
Always Be My Maybe (2019) – directed by Nahnatchka Khan
Toy Story 4 (2019)* – directed by Josh Cooley
Already Gone (2019) – directed by Christopher Kenneally – executive producer only
Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019) – directed by Scott Aukerman – cameo as himself
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020) – directed by Tim Hill
Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020)* – directed by Dean Parisot
Matrix 4 (2022) – directed by Lana Wachowski

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