Thursday 20 February 2020

My Favourite Actor – Keanu Reeves


Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor, producer, and musician. Keanu Charles Reeves was born in Beirut on September 2, 1964, as the son of Patricia (née Taylor), a costume designer and performer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr. His mother is English, hailing from Essex.


Reeves gained fame for his starring roles in several blockbuster films, including comedies from the Bill and Ted franchise (1989–present); action thrillers Point Break (1991), Speed (1994), and the John Wick franchise (2014–present); psychological thriller The Devil's Advocate (1997); supernatural action horror Constantine (2005); and sci-fi action series The Matrix (1999–present). He has also appeared in drama films such as Dangerous Liaisons (1988), My Own Private Idaho (1991), and Little Buddha (1993), as well as the romantic horror Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).


Reeves has earned critical acclaim and several awards for his acting, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One New York Times critic praised his versatility, saying that he "displays considerable discipline and range... he moves easily between the buttoned-down demeanor that suits a police procedural story and the loose-jointed manner of his comic roles". However, Reeves has spent much of his later career being typecast; saving the world is a recurring character arc in many roles he has portrayed, as manifested in characters such as Ted "Theodore" Logan, Gautama Buddha, Neo, Johnny Mnemonic, John Constantine, and Klaatu. The John Wick franchise represented a return to critical praise and commercial success for Reeves.

Reeves has pursued other creative endeavours such as directing and producing films, performing music, and acting in theatre and video games. Onstage, he performed as Prince Hamlet for the Manitoba Theatre Centre's production of Hamlet. He played bass guitar for the bands Dogstar and Becky. He also wrote the text for the 2011 picture book Ode to Happiness, illustrated by Alexandra Grant. He produced a documentary, Side by Side (2012), and directed and starred in the martial arts film Man of Tai Chi (2013).


Probably many like others, my introduction to the actor is The Matrix franchise. The Matrix is an American media franchise created by the Wachowskis. The series primarily consists of a trilogy of science fiction action films beginning with The Matrix (1999) and continuing with two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (both in 2003), all written and directed by the Wachowskis and produced by Joel Silver. The franchise is owned by Warner Bros., which distributed the films along with Village Roadshow Pictures. The latter, along with Silver Pictures, are the two production companies that worked on all three films.



The series features a cyberpunk story of the technological fall of man, in which the creation of artificial intelligence led way to a race of self-aware machines that imprisoned mankind in a virtual reality system—the Matrix—to be farmed as a power source. Every now and then, some of the prisoners manage to break free from the system and, considered a threat, become pursued by the artificial intelligence both inside and outside of it. The films focus on the plight of Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) trying to free humanity from the system while pursued by its guardians, such as Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). The story incorporates references to numerous philosophical, religious, or spiritual ideas, among others the dilemma of choice vs. control, the brain in a vat thought experiment, messianism, and the concepts of inter-dependency and love. Influences include the principles of mythology, anime, and Hong Kong action films (particularly "heroic bloodshed" and martial arts movies). The film series is notable for its use of heavily choreographed action sequences and "bullet time" slow motion effects, which revolutionized action films to come.


The first film was an important critical and commercial success, winning four Academy Awards, introducing popular culture symbols such as the red pill and blue pill, and influencing action filmmaking. For those reasons it has been added to the National Film Registry for preservation. Its first sequel was an even bigger commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing R-rated film in history until it was surpassed by Deadpool in 2016. As of 2006, the franchise has generated $3 billion in revenue. Warner Bros. Pictures has officially confirmed that a fourth Matrix film is in development with Village Roadshow Pictures for a May 21, 2021 release, with Lana Wachowski co-writing and directing and Reeves and Moss reprising their roles.


Keanu Reeves’s one of his most successful blockbuster of the decade undoubtedly be John Wick Franchise. John Wick is an American action thriller media franchise created by Derek Kolstad and owned by Summit Entertainment. Keanu Reeves plays John Wick, a retired hitman seeking vengeance for the killing of the dog given to him by his recently-deceased wife.

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The franchise began with the release of John Wick in 2014 followed by two sequels, John Wick: Chapter 2 on February 10, 2017, and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum on May 17, 2019. All three films were considered critical and commercial successes, accumulating a collective gross of more than $587 million worldwide. A fourth instalment, John Wick: Chapter 4, is in production and is due to be released on May 21, 2021.


After his John Wick’s successful performance, his popularity skyrocket from any other years ever before in his 34 years of acting career. Plus, his genuine real-life nice guy personality and down to earth type of guy making him one of, if not the most beloved actor of all time really getting him the spot now that he truly deserved. He also appearing a lot of cameo in other movies, games and events recently, including:

1. Toy Story 4 (2019) – Movie


2. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020) – Trailer


3. Fortnite – Game


4. CYBERPUNK 2077 – Game


5. E3 Video-Game Conference, Lost Angeles (9th June 2019) – Event


Imagine all of that happen in just in the year of 2019. I’m so happy for him.


My final thoughts on Keanu Reeves is he is pretty much the polar opposite of everything that disgusts people with Hollywood and the film industry. Most actors seem to have a revolving door of young women whom they date, but Keanu is actually dating a woman close his own age (a nearly scandalous act in Hollywood) and hasn’t had the revolving door of starlets at all. Indeed, in an age of Harvey Weinstein he seems superbly respectful of women in a way that’s all but unheard of. He’s avoided any hint of scandal, and over a career the length of his that’s likely because there’s nothing overly scandalous. In spite of being rich beyond the dreams of avarice, he lives a (relatively) modest lifestyle. Yes, he has a multimillion-dollar home in the Hollywood hills, but by comparison to other stars of his magnitude, it’s surprisingly small and it isn’t on some huge estate… Nor does he go around with some excessive entourage. He seems to drive surprisingly modest vehicles (A Porsche 911 and a Ford Mustang). Nice, for sure, but hardly the sort of absurd cars that’s pretty typical of so many stars. He doesn’t do social media, contrary to nearly everyone else and the conventional wisdom that says you have too. Most actors seek the limelight, while Keanu seems to avoid it. By all accounts he’s down to earth, self-effacing, kind to fans and people in general, and not difficult to work with. He talks up his co-stars and others that he works with and seem genuinely happy to just be doing his thing.







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