The tragic past of Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves was born in 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon, where his parents, Patricia Taylor (English) and his father Samuel Norlin Reeves Jr. (Hawaiian and Chinese descent) had met.

When Keanu was only three years old, Samuel left them.

From then on, Patricia (Keanu's mother) started working as a fashion designer and the family moved to Hawaii, Australia, New York and Canada.

During his childhood and adolescence, Keanu Reeves attended numerous schools and institutes because of his family's many moves.

Keanu also suffered from dyslexia, so his time in school was not easy at all.

Keanu never stood out as a good student, but he did draw attention as a brilliant hockey player at De La Salle College in Toronto.

However, his dream of playing hockey professionally for Canada was shattered by a severe injury that prevented him from playing again. That's when he began to focus on his career as an actor.

His experience as an actor had begun at the age of nine in the theatrical production 'Damn Yankees'.

When he was 17, he dropped out of high school without a diploma and moved to Los Angeles.

It was there, in California, where he debuted in an episode of the series 'Hangin' in' and appeared in several TV commercials.

The first time he appeared in a studio film was in 'Youngblood' (1986), where he played a doorman from Quebec.

In 1991, Keanu got his first major role in the film 'My own private Idaho,' directed by Gus Van Sant. While shooting it, the actor met River Phoenix, who would eventually become one of his best friends.

Two years later, River Phoenix died from an overdose at the age of 23, leaving Keanu Reeves shattered. The actor would later lament in interviews that he "could have done more to prevent it".

A few years after the death of his best friend, in 1997, Keanu Reeves met one of the big loves of his life. It would be a tragic romance, though.

Behind Keanu Reeves in the photo is Jennifer Syme, his new love in 1997. She was David Lynch's assistant director and also did some acting. There aren't many photos of her available, however.

Keanu and Jennifer fell madly in love and after two years she became pregnant. On December 24, 1999, she gave birth to the premature baby Ava Archer Syme-Reeves. Unfortunately, the girl was stillborn.

The tragedy marked their relationship. The couple could not overcome their sadness and broke up soon after.

(Image: still from the movie 'Hardball')

The misfortunes did not end. A year and a half later, Syme died in a car accident while returning from a party at Marilyn Manson's house. She was just 28 years old.

In 2006, Keanu said to Parade Magazine that these tragic events marked his life. "Grief changes shape, but it never ends. People have a misconception that you can deal with it, but they are wrong. When the people you love are gone, you're alone."

In 1999, before the loss of his daughter, Keanu Reeves had started filming 'The Matrix'. He had not been the first choice for the Wachowski sisters, the directors of the film.

The names of Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Ewan McGregor, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Nicolas Cage had been called to play Neo, but they all rejected the role.

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The role of Neo established Keanu's career and made him one of the most acclaimed actors of the moment. He was at the level of stars like Johnny Depp or Tom Cruise.

However, his moment of stardom (which would be prolonged during the Matrix trilogy and later films) was clouded by all the drama of the actor's personal life at that time.

The tragedies never prevented the actor from showing his most altruistic and supportive side. Some say that he renegotiated his contract for the Matrix sequels to donate 75 million dollars to the wardrobe and special effects department of the film, because he thought they were the real stars.

The other part of the movie's profits Keanu sent to institutions researching cancer and leukemia, a disease suffered by his sister.

Between 2004 and 2014, Keanu Reeves participated in only 12 films, and they did not get a lot of media attention either. Many suspected that the actor's lack of professional activity was related to the traumatic events that had occurred in his life at the beginning of the decade.

In 2014 Keanu immersed himself in the production of the film 'John Wick', of which he was also the protagonist. It began as a low-budget action film, but in the end it became a cult phenomenon.

We can say that Keanu Reeves has returned as a successful actor. Since 2014, he has made more films than in the entire decade before that.

The actor has managed to cope with his personal tragedies by being one of the most "zen" actors of Hollywood.

In an interview with GQ magazine, Keanu said: "Money means nothing to me. I could live for the next few centuries with what I have already earned."

"My idea of happiness is related to sleeping with the person I love, sharing a dinner with friends or riding a motorcycle. It has nothing to do with a multi-digit bank balance."

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