According to toronto-trend, Toronto is a city that has become a part of many world stars’ lives. Some of them were lucky to be born here, some celebrities spent their entire childhood in this city while others appeared here as an adult. It is not surprising, as this Canadian city is distinguished by a high level of cultural development. In particular, the local cinema and theatre industries have been significantly improved. In addition, Canadian cultural education is rightly considered one of the best. Of course, it attracts creative personalities from all over the world. 

The world-famous and beloved actor Keanu Reeves is closely connected to Toronto as well. Are you surprised? Then make yourself comfortable and learn more about the life of this world-famous celebrity in our article. 

Childhood 

Keanu Reeves was born in Lebanon on September 2, 1964. His mother was English and his father was American with Irish, Portuguese, Hawaiian, Chinese and English roots. 

The boy’s parents divorced, and after that, he and his mother changed places of residence many times. 

First, they moved to Australia and then to New York. There, the woman met Paul Aaron, a Broadway and Hollywood director. The couple married and Keanu moved to Toronto with his mother and stepfather. 

In 1971, the mother of the future actor divorced again. 

Interestingly, the woman had two more husbands and both marriages ended in divorce. 

Keanu spent almost all his childhood in Toronto. His upbringing, mainly, fell on the shoulders of his maternal grandparents and nannies. 

In five years, the boy changed several Toronto schools. He was even a student at the Toronto School of Art for some time, but he was expelled because of “extreme disobedience”. 

Sports success 

Instead, Keanu was much more successful in sports. Hockey was the easiest for him. The boy dreamed of a professional hockey career and wanted to represent Canada at the Olympic Games.

However, an injury doomed the boy’s dreams. 

Education and work

Later, Keanu entered a free alternative school in Toronto, which gave him the opportunity to get an education and work part-time as an actor. But later, the young man left that school as well, even not receiving his school certificate.

Creative debut 

It is worth noting that Keanu Reeves started studying at one of the acting schools in Toronto at the age of nine. At that period, he was involved in a musical for the first time. 

When the boy turned fifteen, he acted in the play Romeo and Juliet. 

The actor’s screen debut took place in a comedy series by the Canadian channel CBC. 

Career development 

At the beginning of the 1980s, Keanu frequently appeared in advertisements. At the same time, he began to act in short films and, of course, was often seen on the Toronto theatre scene. 

In 1984, he started working as a correspondent in one of the youth programs on the CBC. 

The first full-length movie

The first full-length film in Keanu Reeves’s career was Youngblood, in which he played a hockey goalkeeper character. 

After that, Keanu went to America. 

Teenage films

In the USA, the actor initially played supporting roles. 

His role in River’s Edge is considered one of his most successful ones of that period. This movie is about teenagers who suffer because of their friend’s murder. It turned out to be quite successful, and after it, Keanu began to be offered projects aimed at a teenage audience, such as Permanent Record and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. 

A new level 

In the 1990s, Keanu changed his image of a teenage film actor and started to appear in high-budget films. 

One of them was Point Break, which brought him an MTV Award. 

However, Keanu Reeves also brilliantly coped with his roles in low-budget films, such as Dracula. 

Another genre 

In 1994, his career reached a new height. In many ways, that happened thanks to the film Speed. This action film caused a lot of controversy among critics, as before that, Keanu mostly acted in dramas and comedies. In addition, the actor has never performed leading roles before. 

The mentioned action movie had a huge budget and made Keanu world-famous. 

Unexpected decision

Despite his successes in blockbusters, Keanu continued to play supporting roles and participate in the shooting of experimental films. 

He shocked everyone with his refusal to shoot in the sequel of Speed. 

Instead, he agreed to perform the leading role in the theatre play Hamlet. Subsequently, it was highly praised by critics and Reeves was called “the best Hamlet”. 

Unfortunate period

It is worth noting that this period was not very successful for Reeves. After all, many of his works were criticised and badly received despite the fact that they had high-budget. In particular, we are talking about Johnny Mnemonic and Chain Reaction.

Change for the better

Positive changes started in Keanu’s career when he starred in the film The Devil’s Advocate. The box office success of this film was simply incredible! Despite this and a large number of good reviews, many people didn’t like it, as they seemed that Reeves badly coped with acting in that film. 

However, The Matrix, in which Reeves performed the leading role, was admired by everyone. 

Then this movie became one of the iconic in the actor’s career. 

Keanu Reeves also perfectly coped with the role of a rapist in The Gift.

It is worth noting that in the 2000s, the films with Keanu Reeves were marked by negative reviews and small box offices. But they became an integral part of Reeves’ career. In particular, we are talking about The Watcher, The Replacements and Sweet November. 

However, the Matrix sequels recovered the actor’s ratings and drew general attention to him. 

Reeves’ role in A Scanner Darkly was also well-received by critics. 

In 2008, he performed the leading role in the film Street Kings. 

New role

In December 2009, Keanu Reeves became the producer and actor of the film Henry’s Crime. This is a surreal romantic comedy. After that, he started working on Passengers (a science fiction drama). 

Debut as a director 

Despite his success in acting and producing, Keanu Reeves wanted to try himself as a director too. 

This dream came true when his film Man of Tai Chi was released on July 5, 2013. 

In 2014, Keanu got the leading role in John Wick. Two sequels to this film were released in 2017 and 2019. 

All of them were highly appreciated by critics. 

Sequels of favourite films 

The shootings of the fourth Matrix film began in the USA in February 2020. 

A bloody comic book series that was based on a plot written by Reeves was released in the spring of 2021. Moreover, its main character was inspired by the actor. 

The shooting of the fourth part of John Wick started in the summer of 2021.