“He is a giver, he is selfless, he works tirelessly.
Every good thing you’ve heard about him is 110% true.”
The moment you thought all those stories about Keanu Reeves are a little bit exaggerated,
there appears his stunt driver from the John Wick movies and says that Keanu is even better
than that.
With his kind attitude, respect for fans and his heart of gold, Keanu Reeves has fairly
earned the reputation of the humblest man in Hollywood.
In addition to staying a down-to-earth celebrity despite his successful decades-long career,
Keanu keeps surprising fans with his impressive dedication to each and every role.
And it is exactly what we, at Rumour Juice, wanted to talk about today.
But before we continue, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more exciting celebrity stories.
Keanu Reeves made his first foray into action with the 1991 surfer flick Point Break.
Surfing is a physically demanding activity - especially when you had never done it before.
While Reeves didn't necessarily get "buff" for this particular film, he put a lot of
effort into learning to surf effortlessly.
The actor spent two months taking lessons from a world renowned surfer and eventually
got into a new level of physical fitness and capability.
Later on Keanu would gain recognition as someone who does a great deal of stunts by himself.
The first mention of such an intense episode dates back to 1994 in the movie Speed.
You could hardly forget the terrifying scene where Keanu's character jumps from a Jaguar
convertible onto the speeding bus.
It felt even more terrifying when we learned that the actor did the stunt himself.
He had secretly practiced it off-set and assured the very worried film director Jan de Bont
that he could handle it.
De Bont admitted he nearly had a heart attack watching Keanu do the stunt.
So next time you will be watching this scene, make sure you remember how fearless Keanu
was.
The first, but not the last time Revees risked his life for the scene to look as realistic
as possible.
Do you want to know why the John Wick fight scenes are so good?
Exactly: because the actor once again demonstrated his inexhaustible commitment while preparing
for the role.
Keanu got his old crew from The Matrix to choreograph all the scenes.
He was literally having 8 hours of martial arts, driving and gun training per day, for
the long period of 4 months.
Keanu didn't lose enthusiasm even when the THIRD John Wick movie was in the making.
The video of Keanu, in his early 50s, training hard for John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum,
immediately went viral, with the most comment under the video saying: ""He didn't "act"
John Wick.
He IS John Wick."
And of course let us not forget the legendary motorcycle sword fight.
It was something special, as well.
Describing his preparation process for the second movie of the franchise, which involved
more guns, Reeves told Page Six how he spent countless hours drawing, shooting and reloading
various firearms.
"Basically just take the gun home, start walking around, practice spying rooms, practice your
draws…
He continued talking eagerly: “In the second one, they actually let me
be in a car and drive into another car.
I was surprised about that.
They said, ‘Get in the car, drive backward and smash into that other car.’
It was funny because I hit that car so hard, I ripped the steering wheel off the steering
column.”
We have already mentioned the legendary Matrix team that helped Keanu choreograph fights
for John Wick.
But what we didn't mention is that by the time the filming of The Matrix started, Reeves
was already suffering from a spinal injury - two discs in his back had begun to fuse
together.
It was so bad that he was beginning to experience paralysis in his legs.
But for Keanu, so excited about the role, it was not a reason enough to stop the shooting
or complain about things.
But if you pay attention, Reeves doesn’t throw many kicks in the first Matrix film.
Keanu's dedication shows itself not only in the form of his enthusiastic preparation for
the roles, but also in him initiating dramatic pay cuts in his own salary in order to work
with Hollywood legends.
For Devil's Advocate, Reeves who was by that time a legend himself, deferred $2 million
of his salary so they could afford to hook Al Pacino to the project.
Some years later, in a similar move, the actor cut the impressive of his salary so that The
Replacements could fit screen legend Gene Hackman into the budget.
Generally speaking about Keanu's attitude to money, it just doesn't matter that much
for him.
For Reeves, money is a means, not a goal.
Keanu, who quietly invests millions in charity, told Chicago Tribune in 2003:
"Money is the last thing I think about.
I could live on what I've already made for the next few centuries."
In another development, to support his stunt crew of 12 he worked with on The Matrix Reloaded
set, he bought them ALL brand new Harley Davidson motorcycles which range in price from $7,000
to more than $40,000 today.
While Keanu is not counting his money, media do that FOR him.
According to some reports, he spent around $200,000 just on the bikes.
When asked about such a generous move, Reeves replied as if it wasn't some special act of
generosity:
"We were all in this thing, and we were training together beforehand.
I just wanted ... to give a bigger thank-you to all these guys who helped me make this.”
So you heard it, right?
It was a thank-you, Keanu style!
And a little bit more about money, just to prove the point that no matter how big the
paycheck offer is, you can't BUY Reeves for the role.
In 1995 he was offered $11 million to take part in Speed 2.
He turned it down to star as Hamlet in a Cadandian theater production.
Keanu explained his decision in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel saying:
It is not surprising that Keanu is very careful about the choice of roles, minding the amount
of time and energy he invests into each movie.
Anyone who has ever worked with Reeves, confirms his commitment to his roles can hardly be
characterized as regular.
The Matrix stuntman and John Wick co-director Chad Stahelski told Esquire:
"It’s a choice.
It’s about what level of commitment an actor or an actress is willing to make for a project.
Keanu’s all or nothing.
He’s willing to give up six months of his time to train for a role.
Some people would try and get another film in, or work two.
When I first met him he’d had surgery and he was doing kung-fu in this big, cold warehouse
with a neck brace on.
I knew he was a serious guy.
That set the standard for the rest of our relationship."
The last point on the list has never been confirmed, but according to the book Celebrity
Biographies - The Amazing Life Of Keanu Reeves by Matt Green, rumours had been swirling for
years that both River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves had experimented with drugs to prepare for
their roles in My Own Idaho.
Although Reeves vehemently denied those rumours, some close friends believed that Phoenix had
fallen into a private drug addiction after the filming.
We all remember how this story ended for River Phoenix who died at the age of 23 following
a drug overdose.
Some alleged that the death of his co-star and friend River affected the way Reeves perceived
acting as a rewarding craft that still carries its own dangers.
"Not only was Reeves himself quietly terrified of falling too deep into a challenging role,
but he was all too aware of the temptations of wealth and excesses that awaited him."
Hardly did Keanu know that the passing of Rivers was not the last tragic loss in his
life.
In 1999, his beloved girlfriend gave birth to a stillborn daughter and two years later
Jennifer tragically died in a car accident, aged just 28.
Speaking years later with Parade magazine about Jennifer's passing, Keanu confessed:
"Grief changes shape, but it never ends.
People have a misconception that you can deal with it and say, ‘It’s gone, and I’m
better’.
They’re wrong.
When the people you love are gone, you’re alone."
We don't want to end this video on a sad note though.
What we really wanted to say is that despite all the personal struggles, Keanu has become
and remained a Hollywood legend, and this is evident not only from the way he treats
people around him, but also from the way he commits to each and every role.
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