Keanu Reeves Through the Years: From ’90s Heartthrob to Sci-Fi Action Star

Credit: Shutterstock (4)

Keanu Reeves Through the Years: From '90s Heartthrob to Sci-Fi Action Star

The internet's favorite action star! Keanu Reeves has been famous for more than 30 years, but his fans have never stopped loving him — and their adoration keeps growing every year. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1964, the Matrix star has a reputation for being kind to strangers even though he's a world famous movie star. In July 2022, the Speed actor made headlines for chatting with a young fan at the airport. "Keanu Reeves was on my flight from London to NYC today. A young boy asked for an autograph at baggage & then began to fire off a series of rapid-fire questions. Keanu happily responded to every single one," TV producer Andrew Kimmel wrote in a series of tweets at the time. "Kid: Why were you in London? KR: Filming a documentary. Kid: I saw online you were at the Grand Prix (pronouncing the x). KR: Yes, the Grand Prix (in a French accent, without correcting him). F1! Race cars!" [sendtonews type="float" key="5FblxC6vVS-2828074-14453"] After the boy started running out of things to ask, Reeves proceeded to ask him about his own plans. "Why were you in Europe? What galleries did you go to in Paris? What was your favorite?" Kimmel recalled. "The man could not have been nicer, especially after an international flight. I thought I’d share this because the dude is a class act and little moments like this can make such a big difference in people’s lives. We need more Keanus!" While the Point Break star may be a teddy bear off camera, he's known for his hard work on set. Reeves does as many of his own stunts as possible, even when it requires months of training. The Constantine actor spent 12 weeks prepping for John Wick: Chapter 4, which hit theaters in March 2023. "It’s new levels of action,” Reeves said in a featurette for the sequel. “John Wick action asks just a little bit more. And you see the effort and the commitment from the team.” Even when the work is grueling, the Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure star can't help but find the positive side of things. "It's the best kind of tired," he told ComicBook.com in March 2023. "It's like you climbed a mountain [and] now you're resting. like you finished the game and you won." Keep scrolling for a look back at Reeves' life and career over the years:

Credit: Shutterstock (4)

Keanu Reeves Through the Years: From '90s Heartthrob to Sci-Fi Action Star

The internet's favorite action star! Keanu Reeves has been famous for more than 30 years, but his fans have never stopped loving him — and their adoration keeps growing every year. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1964, the Matrix star has a reputation for being kind to strangers even though he's a world famous movie star. In July 2022, the Speed actor made headlines for chatting with a young fan at the airport. "Keanu Reeves was on my flight from London to NYC today. A young boy asked for an autograph at baggage & then began to fire off a series of rapid-fire questions. Keanu happily responded to every single one," TV producer Andrew Kimmel wrote in a series of tweets at the time. "Kid: Why were you in London? KR: Filming a documentary. Kid: I saw online you were at the Grand Prix (pronouncing the x). KR: Yes, the Grand Prix (in a French accent, without correcting him). F1! Race cars!" [sendtonews type="float" key="5FblxC6vVS-2828074-14453"] After the boy started running out of things to ask, Reeves proceeded to ask him about his own plans. "Why were you in Europe? What galleries did you go to in Paris? What was your favorite?" Kimmel recalled. "The man could not have been nicer, especially after an international flight. I thought I’d share this because the dude is a class act and little moments like this can make such a big difference in people’s lives. We need more Keanus!" While the Point Break star may be a teddy bear off camera, he's known for his hard work on set. Reeves does as many of his own stunts as possible, even when it requires months of training. The Constantine actor spent 12 weeks prepping for John Wick: Chapter 4, which hit theaters in March 2023. "It’s new levels of action,” Reeves said in a featurette for the sequel. “John Wick action asks just a little bit more. And you see the effort and the commitment from the team.” Even when the work is grueling, the Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure star can't help but find the positive side of things. "It's the best kind of tired," he told ComicBook.com in March 2023. "It's like you climbed a mountain [and] now you're resting. like you finished the game and you won." Keep scrolling for a look back at Reeves' life and career over the years:

Credit: Orion/Kobal/Shutterstock

1989

Reeves made his big-screen debut in 1985, but his breakout role came four years later with the comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. The beloved movie spawned two sequels: 1991's Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and 2020's Bill & Ted Face the Music.

Credit: Snap/Shutterstock

1991

The Devil's Advocate actor became a bona fide star with three big hits in one year: Point Break, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey and My Own Private Idaho.

Credit: Snap/Shutterstock

1992

Reeves played Jonathan Harker in Bram Stroker's Dracula, which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The MTV Movie Award winner later joked that he and costar Winona Ryder got legally married while filming one scene. “We did a whole take of a marriage ceremony with real priests,” Reeves told Esquire in 2021. “Winona says we are. Coppola says we are. So, I guess we’re married under the eyes of God.”

Credit: 20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

1994

The Dogstar musician stared in Speed alongside Sandra Bullock. He did not, however, appear in the 1997 sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control.

Credit: Andrew Murray/Shutterstock

1999

Reeves began dating Jennifer Syme after meeting her at a party for his band. In December 1999, Syme gave birth to the couple's first child, who was stillborn. The couple split soon after but later reconciled.  

Credit: Warner Bros/Village Roadshow Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock

1999

The Matrix, directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, made Reeves a global action star. The film spawned three sequels, a documentary, an animated movie and several video games.

Credit: SplashNews.com

2001

Syme died in a car accident at age 28. Reeves served as a pallbearer at her funeral, and Syme was buried next to their daughter.

Credit: Warner Bros/Village Roadshow Pictures/Kobal/Shutterstock

2003

After taking a short from acting following Syme's death, Reeves returned as Neo in The Matrix Reloaded.

Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

2006

Reeves reunited with Bullock for The Lake House. Years later, the duo separately admitted that they both had crushes on each other while filming Speed, though they never dated.

Credit: Briquet Nicolas/ABACA/Shutterstock

2010

A photo of Reeves sitting alone on a park bench eating a sandwich went viral and became known as "Sad Keanu." In 2021, the actor told Stephen Colbert he wasn't actually sad at the time — just hungry.

Credit: David Lee/Thunder Road/Lionsgate/Mjw/Summit/Kobal/Shutterstock

2014

Reeves starred as the titular hitman in the first John Wick film.

Credit: YouTube

2016

Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key starred in a film called Keanu about two men who infiltrate a gang to retrieve their stolen pet kitten, named Keanu. Reeves had a cameo as the voice of the cat.

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

2019

Reeves and girlfriend Alexandra Grant went public with their romance after cofounding a publishing company in 2017. Career-wise, he voiced Duke Kaboom in Toy Story 4 and played himself in Always Be My Maybe.

Credit: YouTube

2021

Nearly 20 years after The Matrix Revolutions, Reeves reprised his role as Neo in The Matrix Resurrections.

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

2022

Matthew Perry made headlines when he asked in his memoir why Reeves "still walks among us" when River Phoenix is dead. Phoenix, who was close friends with Reeves, died in 1993 at age 23. The Friends alum later publicly apologized to Reeves, saying that he's a "big fan" of the Johnny Mnemonic star.  

Credit: Murray Close

2023

Reeves appeared in John Wick: Chapter 4, which was released days after costar Lance Reddick's unexpected death at age 60. “Lance was a beautiful person, a special artist, a man of grace and dignity and such a passion for his craft,” Reeves told Deadline at the film's premiere. "It f–king sucks he’s not here.”