Keanu Reeves. At first glance, he has everything that a man could dream of. A successful A-list actor delivering hits one after the other. From teenage years in Bill and Ted’s Adventure to shooting to fame with the Matrix trilogy to ruling the Action genre with John Wick, any aspiring actor would be willing to trade his place with his.
But not Keanu Reeves.
All his thumping success could never replace what he lost in life. The man’s fought through so much more than what he dealt with as John Wick.
In fact, if you ask me, John Wick and Keanu Reeves are inseparable, and here’s why—
His Father ditched him as a kid
His father walked out on Young Keanu when he was 3 years old. He along with his mom and sister moved to Australia and then Canada.
His best friend died of drug addiction
He became best friends with River Phoenix (Joaquin Phoenix’s brother) on the sets of I Love You to Death. In fact, Reeves was the guy who convinced River to take up the movie My Own Private Idaho, following which River developed a drug addiction problem that would go on to claim his life.
His sister was treated for Leukemia
Kim Reeves, just like her elder brother starred in many noteworthy roles such as Samurai Vampire Bikers from Hell and Love Don’t Come Easy. Kim’s acting career was interrupted by health issues, as she was diagnosed with cancer, and had to face a decade-long battle with the deadly disease. Following this, Keanu actively started supporting causes with Cancer among young kids, raising awareness, and donating actively.
He lost his stillborn child
In 1998, he met Jennifer Syme who happened to be David Lynch’s assistant and both fell in love instantly. They conceived a baby but died as a stillborn.
And 18 months later his girlfriend dies
After losing the stillborn, struck by grief, they separated. But then a year and a half later, Jennifer died of a tragic car accident.
But despite tragedies one after another, he has held it together. He lost himself in the middle, disappeared for a couple of years to take this in, made peace with his circumstances and moved on forward. He fought depression all on his own and didn’t make a scene about it on live Television.
He channeled his grief to better the lives of the people around him. He’s actively involved in charity, and in real life, is probably the sweetest person ever.
He’s been donating secretly to a charity for cancer kids not because he can ride on a PR boost but because he lost his sister to cancer.
He’s a regularly commutes in Subway and is gentleman enough to give up his seat to those in need.
He gave a huge cut of his pay (around $80 million) from Matrix to the VFX team that helped with the graphics and worked relentlessly day and night.
He once hung out with a homeless guy, because, well, he’s Keanu Reeves. He shared drinks and snacks with the homeless guy and was actively engrossed in his conversation. Good thing that some paparazzi happened to be lurking in the area, or we’d have never known of this heartfelt incident.
Despite going through a lot, he always does his bit to keep people around him happy even if somewhere inside he has given up hope of being happy a long time ago.
Once when asked by a fan how he coped with his sadness, he replied, “ You need happiness to lead your life, I don’t”.
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