Born September 2, 1964, Keanu Reeves is a Canadian-American actor. He was born in Beirut, Lebanon and experienced an unstable childhood, traveling around the world. He has also had a number of stepfathers since his parents divorced in 1966. His family moved to New York City when his mother became a costume designer, and eventually transferred to Toronto. He has attended different schools until he finally enrolled at The Ohio State University in 1983, where he developed his acting skills.
Keanu Reeves began acting at an early age. At nine, he appeared on stage in a production of Damn Yankees. After a series of stage performances, he made his screen acting debut in the comedy series Hangin’ In. He has also appeared in various commercials and short films until he played an ice hockey goalie in the movie Youngblood in 1986 with Rob Lowe.
Constantly starring in many TV series, Reeves was finally cast a major role in River’s Edge. The role that gave him the most popularity, however, was playing Ted Logan in the 1989 time-travel movie Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and in its sequel Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. He broke out of his teen-film phase when he took on more dramatic roles like Scott Favor in My Own Private Idaho, with River Phoenix. He also won MTV’s “Most Desirable Male” award in 1992 for appearing in the high-budget action film Point Break.
Keanu Reeves’ career reached a higher point when he starred in 1994’s Speed. He has never stopped accepting supporting roles, but he was cast as the lead male in the romance A Walk in the Clouds. He gained more fame playing opposite Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate and playing Shane Falco in 2000’s The Replacements. His portrayal of Neo in the 1999 science-fiction hit The Matrix,earned him international stardom, and received more applause for his performance in its sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Keanu Reeves was also cast in other box-office hits like Something’s Gotta Give and the horror-action film Constantine. He also starred in the film adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s novel A Scanner Darkly and with Sandra Bullock in The Lake House, which both received favorable reviews.