It’s Keanu.. the most excellent dude in whole of Hollywood
Actor secretly aids charities and movie pals
Listen in, dudes. He may be worth £275million and, yes, he stars in an excellent movie sequel released last week.
But fame, money and glory are not what it’s all about for Keanu Reeves, truly one of Hollywood’s good guys.
The man who plays airhead guitar fan Ted “Theodore” Logan in the latest incarnation of Bill
& Ted does not need material things to be happy.
Quietly, unassumingly, he has looked out for others through the years and gathered a reputation as one of the most charitable, caring and kind stars in Tinseltown.
So now that Bill & Ted Face The Music has hit movie screens – with all the old catchphrases such as “excellent”, “whoa”, “dudes” and “bogus” – the plaudits may go his way but it will be countless others who continue to benefit from the altruistic star.
His charity foundation helps sick kids and cancer sufferers. Not to mention the times he took salary cuts so other actors would be paid more – even gifting stuntmen a Harley-Davidson each.
Many put his generosity down to the struggles he has overcome, f rom losing his gi rl f riend Jennifer Syme in a car accident in 2001, just 18 months after their daughter Ava was stillborn, to caring for his sister as she battled cancer and losing his best friend River Phoenix to a drug overdose in 1993.
Keanu, 56, has suffered more than his share of tragedies.
He admits he shied away from relationships for years after Jennifer’s death, preferring to form temporary families on the sets of his blockbuster films, which include Speed, The Matrix, John Wick and Point Break.
He said: “Working a lot and constantly moving from one f ilm set to another has been impor tant in helping me overcome some of the more painful times in my life.
“Every film set gives me the feeling that I’m part of a new family and I feel fortunate to be able to have a job that gives me a lot of satisfaction.
“But I still work at finding more inner strength and wisdom and hopeful ly look towards the future with greater optimism.”
Keanu has always been f iercely private about his personal life. He now shares a home with his long-term artist girlfriend Alexandra Grant, 47.
The couple only went public last year but had been an item for years and friends for a decade.
They have a home in the Hollywood hi l ls.
Prev iously, Keanu preferred a nomadic l i festyle, travel l ing, surfing and riding his beloved motorbikes.
He said: “I spent a long time living like a gypsy but I also
enjoyed living that way. Whenever I would come back to Los Angeles after working on a film, I would either stay in hotels or rent houses.
“But, after a while, I think I just grew tired of not having a fixed address and I decided to look for a house that I liked and buy it.
“Finally I came across one and I said, ‘ This is what I want!’ and I’ve been living in that house ever since.
“I feel very comfortable there and it’s a nice place to invite friends.”
For some, Keanu is seen as a modern-day guru, so much so that a new self-help book – Be More Keanu – has been written using the star’s words and actions as a kind of life road map.
He gave £75million of his Matrix earnings to people behind the scenes who he felt deserved it far more.
The star was once spotted hanging out with a homeless man, sharing food and listening to his stories for hours. He thought nothing of driving a girl 50 miles out of his way because her car had broken down.
And when a flight he was on was forced to make an emergency landing, he helped organise transportation for fellow passengers, sharing a bus with them, playing country music from his phone and regaling them with facts about California along the way.
He also makes huge charitable donations to children’s hospitals and takes no credit for it.
When pushed, he admitted: “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.”
Keanu says he doesn’t need material things to be happy. He said: “It’s always nice to open your eyes every morning and see the world – it all seems so simple.
“That’s why I frequently use an expression I like very much and which gives me peace of mind – ‘I’m happy to be here.’ That enormous sense of gratitude is enough for me – I don’t need to sur round mysel f with a lot of objects and possessions to feel that way.”
Born in Bei rut , Lebanon, to showgirl and costume designer Patricia Taylor and geologist Samuel Reeves, Keanu was three when his dad walked out on the family.
His mum raised him in Toronto, Canada, but Keanu struggled at school due to dyslexia.
He began working on the f ilm sets of his mum’s second husband, Broadway and Hollywood director Paul Aaron.
After a few small movie roles, his big break came in 1989 film Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, about two high school buddies who form a band and travel through time.
Now they’re back for the longawaited third instalment, with Keanu teaming up once more with his long-time pal Alex Winter, 55, who plays Bill.
Keanu said: “We enjoy each other’s company and our thoughts and takes on the world. I love the characters. I love the world and I love working with Alex. I’m grateful that we had the chance to play again.”
It seems, after his own losses, Keanu has at last found happiness – and he certainly deserves it.
My private foundation helps kids’ hospitals and cancer research