How Keanu Reeves Manages to Be a Hollywood Super Star and a Simple Guy at the Same Time

Keanu Reeves has had many various roles within his filming career — from a romantic character to a prudent lawyer and a chosen hacker. However, when hearing his name, many of us recall not the movies that he played in but the stories that characterize him as a person. Dozens of charity campaigns, touching relations with fans, and a simple, not Hollywood-like lifestyle can tell about this person much more than flicks from his filmography.

We at Bright Side are in love with this talented person, and we listed only a few reasons why we are.

Keanu Reeves can be a true friend.

This pair of friends is as iconic for Hollywood as the pair of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. They became friends in the ’90s on the set of Speed. During their first meeting, Sandra Bullock kept speaking non-stop. But the more the actress was talking, the quieter Reeves was becoming. A couple of days later, he came up to her and gave her a note. It was saying, “I thought about what you said.”

The actress was amazed at how thoughtful he was. Of course, on the same day, the dialogue between two future friends happened. This time, both of them were talking.

By the way, on one of the TV programs it was found out that at that moment, both of them had a crush on each other. But Keanu didn’t risk confessing his feelings, and Sandra revealed her feelings only years later. Nevertheless, they managed to create something not less valuable — a true friendship.

Keanu feels shy about his star status.

The stories about how easily Keanu can refuse a big honorarium so that the movie company can invite a cool celebrity into the project or increase payments for those who create visual effects have drawn the attention of the public many times. The actor often makes generous gifts to fans and colleagues. But, just as important, he cares about the people around him.

According to his costar in the Matrix movie franchise, Carrie-Anne Moss, Reeves did it so that people around him didn’t feel he is a star. He worked harder than others on the set and studied the smallest details of the work. He also paid attention even to small requests from his colleague. Once, Moss asked him to recommend movies for her kids. Despite being tired, Reeves took the time and created this list thoughtfully.

He is not afraid to stand for his opinion.

Today, Keanu Reeves is a superstar and his name is known to almost every cinema-goer on the planet. However, the actor had to fight for it in the past.

The thing is he has Hawaiian origins and his name comes from that part of the world. It means “cool breeze over the mountain.” Sounds quite exotic, doesn’t it? It seems the actor’s manager thought the same when he offered the actor to take a nickname at the beginning of his career.

Another actor at the beginning of his career would listen to the opinion of his colleague in pursuit of fame, but not Reeves. He intentionally kept offering strange options for the nickname, such as Chuck Spadina and Templeton Page Taylor. Every new name would sound more bizarre than the previous one. Eventually, the manager let the actor keep his real name and surname, and apparently it was the right decision.

He doesn’t hunt for big honorariums.

After the success of Speed, the Twentieth Century Fox company decided to film the sequel of this story. However, Reeves didn’t like the scenario and despite the many-million contract that was offered to him, he refused from taking part in this project for the sake of the theater play Hamlet. By doing this, the actor made the famous studio furious, which got insulted and didn’t invite him to big projects for many years.

Reeves doesn’t feel scared to try something new.

Apart from being a co-author of several art books, Reeves started to create his series of comic strips in 2017. He decided to create a superhero that he will be able to portray on the big screen in the future. The character resembles Neo from The Matrix and John Wick at the same time.

He is a desperate workaholic.

There are many legends about Keanu Reeves’ workaholism. It is not an issue for him to go to study martial arts, horseback riding, surfing, or learn to sing if the role requires it. In addition, the actor cannot be pulled off the set, even if he is sick. For example, one of the fighting scenes in John Wick was filmed when had a fever of around 103°.

He tries not to lie to the viewers, that’s why he spends much time studying his roles. Thus, in order to portray a beggar who hit the jackpot in the lottery, he simply grabbed a toothbrush and went to sleep in the gateway to the homeless. Reeves spent four days there until people started to recognize him. Within this time, the actor got to know his new neighbors well.

They taught him the tricks of survival on the street and shared their stories. When the actor’s identity was revealed, he invited his new friends to dinner at a restaurant. Unfortunately, the movie for which it was all done for has never been made.

He reciprocates his fans.

Reeves is not the one who refuses to take a selfie or have a small talk with his fans. People on the internet keep posting the stories of meeting him. One of them happened only recently.

Having seen Keanu in a restaurant, a man came up to him and told him that his 80-year-old mom has been his avid fan for a long time and that the actor reminds her of her late husband. Reeves asked to call this woman immediately. He decided to get to know his fan in person and had a long conversation with her that day.

A glamorous life is not his cup of tea.

Fashion magazines keep joking that Keanu has been wearing the same clothes for a quarter of a century already. There is a part of truth in it. The actor is not the one who tries to dress up when he goes outside. He prefers usual T-shirts and jeans to stylish, expensive suits.

By the way, it doesn’t prevent him from getting to the lists of the most stylish men in the world. All because the style is more about the inner state, not the appearance.

Reeves could easily find another job.

The actor demonstrated his talent as a guide in 2019 when the San Francisco-Los Angeles flight had an emergency landing in Bakersfield. No one was hurt during the accident, however, the passengers had to wait for 3 hours for the opportunity to get their baggage.

Reeves offered not to waste time and held an excursion to them, having found all the necessary info on the internet. Later the video where the actor is joking with the passengers, telling them stories, and playing music was uploaded to the internet.

He has been waiting for his love for long 18 years.

There are many internet memes about Reeves where he is depicted as a sad hero. Partially, this is due to the sad story that happened to the actor. In 2001, his girlfriend died in a car accident.

Since that time, the Hollywood star has not been noticed in a romantic relationship with a woman. Journalists were writing that someone truly exceptional will be able to melt the actor’s heart. And this woman finally appeared — it is an artist, Alexandra Grant.

Perhaps his fans were expecting to see someone different next to him, but it was her, a tall gray-haired 40+ woman. Alexandra doesn’t fit the standard of magazine covers beauty, and she is proud of it. Reeves couldn’t dare to ask her out for almost 10 years — they met each other in 2009 and appeared as a couple only in 2019. According to their friends, the actor and the artist are head over heels in love with each other.

If you were asked to name one role of Keanu Reeves that reflects his personality the best, which one would it be?