Keanu Reeves is one of the world's most beloved actors, known for his fantastic
work in action movies like The Matrix and the John Wick series -- though his life has had
its fair share of tragedies and hardships that made him into the man he is today.
The emotional gut-punches started at a very young age for Keanu Reeves. He was
just a 3-year-old kid when his father, Samuel Reeves, abandoned the family,
leaving his wife Patricia to raise their two children alone. Predictably,
he and Keanu's relationship has devolved since then, from rocky to completely nonexistent.
In the '90s, Samuel was arrested for possession of cocaine and heroin and received a 10-year jail
sentence. He's been out for a good while, but his relationship with his son never recovered.
Both men have commented on their falling
out in the years since. Keanu told Rolling Stone in 2000 -
"The story with me and my dad's pretty heavy. It's full of pain
and woe and f---ing loss and all that s---."
Clearly, despite the fact that the two men haven't spoken in years, the pain that lingers
between them endures. Given how young Keanu was when his father left the family, that's
a whole lot of time he's had to spend dealing with difficult feelings towards his father.
For his part, Samuel told The Mirror -
"[Keanu's] made it clear that he wants nothing to do with me."
He went on to add -
"I'm embarrassed by it all. Keanu said my life was 'tragic' and, oh boy, does that hurt. Sad,
yeah? I never figured things would end up this way. But he'll always be my boy."
Reeves' newly single mother, Patricia, moved frequently from state to state — and
marriage to marriage. Though there's a lot of love there,
this sort of a constant upheaval is hard for anyone to deal with — let alone a kid.
After Reeves' father left, Patricia took the little clan from Australia to New York City.
Once settled in the Big Apple, she met and married Broadway director
Paul Aaron in 1970. The couple moved to Toronto shortly after.
Sadly, the romance didn't last, but, happily enough, Aaron remained friendly with Reeves,
often giving him career advice and helping him secure some early acting jobs.
The Reeves family remained in the Yorkville neighborhood of Toronto throughout much of the
1970s and into the following decade. In 1976, Patricia married rock music promoter Robert
Miller, but they unfortunately split in 1980. Her next marriage, to hairdresser Jack Bond,
lasted until 1994, by which time Reeves had become an established force in Hollywood.
As a kid, Reeves struggled academically, attending four separate high schools in
total. He never did earn his diploma, and never pursued higher education.
"Are you going to graduate?"
"Graduate?"
Reeves was, in fact, expelled from one of his many schools. As he told the Daily Mail in 2008 -
"It was difficult. I went to four different high schools in five years. I was OK academically,
good at English and creative writing. I was on the chess team."
He added some reasons for the problems,
including the size of the school and numerous conflicts with students and staff, saying -
"I was one of those 'Why? kids — I asked too many questions about everything.
I couldn't stop even if it got me into trouble. I wanted my autonomy,
and if you wanted to impose something on me, then you and I would have a problem."
Still, he took the expulsion hard, saying -
"It's a terrible letter to receive, saying you can't come back to school next year.
Getting asked to leave was very upsetting."
In the end, though, it inspired him to get serious about acting.
By the late '80s, Keanu Reeves was already landing some major, enviable roles, most notably
in the legendary goofball buddy comedy, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. A few years later,
he embraced mature films like 1990's I Love You To Death and the following year's My Own
Private Idaho, a drama about two street hustler friends who embark on a journey of self discovery.
Reeves became fast friends with his co-star in those two films, River Phoenix. Phoenix was on
a similar career trajectory to Reeves at the time, having broken into serious roles in the late '80s.
Unfortunately, as is often the case with young celebrities, Phoenix struggled with
the pressures of fame, and ultimately turned to drugs. On October 31, 1993, tragedy struck when
Phoenix collapsed outside Los Angeles' Viper Room nightclub and died hours later at the age of 23.
The tragedy stunned Hollywood,
and Reeves in particular. As Reeves told the Guardian in 2019, Phoenix was -
"Definitely [one of] my closest friends from that era. We shared an artistic sensibility.
River was just so down-to-earth, spiritual and a unique artist. Yeah, I miss him."
By the late '90s, Keanu had broken out of rising-star status and become a bonafide leading
man. This happened largely on the backs of 1994's Speed, in which he played a young cop trapped on
a bus that's set to blow if it travels slower than 50 miles per hour, and 1999's The Matrix,
in which he played a man who discovers the world around him is a simulation.
It was around this time that he met and fell in love with Jennifer Syme, an actress and
personal assistant. Before long, Jennifer was pregnant. However, shortly before Christmas, 1999,
Syme noticed she hadn't felt movement from the baby in days. The two rushed to the hospital,
where ultrasound tests revealed that the worst case scenario was indeed true.
Syme delivered their stillborn daughter, Ava Archer Syme-Reeves, on December 24, 1999.
Understandably, this loss devastated both parents. As an anonymous friend told the Globe in 2000 -
"He really had his heart set on becoming a dad. Instead,
he and Jennifer are undergoing grief counseling to try and help them cope with their anguish."
The loss of a child is one of the most intense tragedies a person can endure. Inevitably, it
takes a massive toll on relationships — especially the one between the child's parents. This was very
much the case with Keanu Reeves and Jennifer Syme. Sadly, but very much understandably,
the couple split a few weeks after laying their daughter to rest in January 2000.
Despite this, Reeves and Syme remained close after the breakup.
On April 1, 2001, Reeves met Syme at San Francisco's Crepes on Cole, a popular brunch spot,
according to People. According to The Sun, she attended a party at the home of Marilyn Manson
that evening. For reasons unknown, after being dropped off at her own home, she left again,
this time in her own vehicle. Shortly after 6 a.m. Syme's car slammed into a trio of parked
cars — she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle. She died instantly.
The tragedies of losing his child and former partner changed Reeves forever. Years later,
the grief still lay heavily upon him. Reeves told Parade in 2006 -
"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."
Keanu Reeves should've been enjoying the peak of his acting career in the
late '90s and early aughts. However, the nearly back-to-back losses he endured
during this period cast a shadow over just about everything he did.
On top of that, his younger sister Kim had been fighting leukemia since 1991.
This long battle with cancer took an enormous toll. Luckily, she had the support of her loved
ones — including her big brother. According to a 1999 article in Australia's Woman's Day,
Reeves supported her through the years following her diagnosis,
sending flowers and special messages to his sick sister at least once a week. Reeves said -
"I love Kim. She's so brave, and I want the very best for her. You can star in hit movies,
but that's nothing compared to going through what Kim's been through."
Fortunately for everyone involved, Kim Reeves went into remission in 1999.
As the years went on, Reeves began taking on more serious roles. The critics could be merciless.
Now, we'll admit, his attempt at an English accent in 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula is... not great.
"I doubted everything, even my mind. I was impotent with fear."
"I know."
But it, and other Reeves performances,
didn't merit the tidal wave of mockery the actor soon faced.
Though the first Matrix movie was a hit, the subsequent two were not as beloved.
Critics and fans alike began attacking what they saw as Reeves' wooden underperformance
as protagonist Neo. In his defense, most of the main characters in the Matrix franchise have the
same deadpan expression, no matter what's happening. But while Hugo Weaving gets to
cackle and snarl as the villainous Agent Smith, Reeves' Neo simply... doesn't emote. Ever. All
these years later, his infamously low-key one-word catch phrase remains memorable.
"...Whoa."
But that is, one can easily argue, the point of the character.
Luckily, Reeves has since found a comfortable home in the excellent
John Wick series, where his subtle performance as the grief-stricken,
terrifyingly skilled protagonist makes a lot of sense. Plus, you're too amazed
by the incredible fight choreography to really care much, one way or the other.
Reeves is quite the philanthropist, although he doesn't like to draw attention to this.
Regarding one of his charitable projects, Reeves said in 2009 -
"I have a private foundation that's been running for five or six years,
and it helps aid a couple of children's hospitals and cancer research. I don't
like to attach my name to it; I just let the foundation do what it does."
In addition to his generosity, Reeves is also shockingly private, largely shunning the flashy
celebrity lifestyle. As a result of all this generosity and humility, Reeves' reputation
has drastically transformed in recent years. He's gone from being dismissed as a moderately talented
action star to a beloved figure of Hollywood. All this sudden adoration might seem a bit much,
but it's not going anywhere any time soon. The story of a man who's been through so much,
only to remain a generous, quiet person, is just too wholesome for the internet not to fawn over.
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