Who is Keanu Reeves’ biological father?
Introduction
There’s a popular saying that goes something along the lines of ‘never meet your heroes, you’ll only be disappointed.’
Well, whoever came up with that saying obviously never met the national treasure that is Keanu Reeves.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past four decades nearly, chances are you’ll be well aware of Keanu Reeves.
Keanu Reeves is one of Hollywood’s most influential actors, and the fact that he has enjoyed a career that has spanned four decades is nothing short of remarkable.
Keanu has fans all over the globe and has starred in some of the world’s most successful film franchises, yet you will never meet a kinder, more humble soul in your life.
Because Keanu is so popular, naturally, his fans want to know more about his career and, indeed, his personal life as well.
One of the most common questions that people ask is who is Keanu Reeves’ biological father.
Well, that’s what we’re going to look at today.
Who is Keanu Reeves?
Carrie-Anne, Moss Laurence Fishburne, and Keanu Reeves – @Getty
Keanu Charles Reeves was born on September 2, 1964. He was born in Beirut but raised in Toronto, Canada.
He is a Canadian actor and musician who has been working in the entertainment industry since 1984.
He made his TV debut in the 1985 TV series ‘Hangin In’ before appearing on the big screen in 1986 for the first time in the feature film ‘Young Blood.’
Some of his most notable roles include ‘Point Break,’ along with ‘The Devil’s Advocate’ the cult classic ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ and the 1990s blockbuster action flick ‘Speed.’
Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves – 1991 – @Getty
It wasn’t until the late 1990s, however, that Keanu really showed the world what a powerhouse actor he was, when he starred as ‘Neo’ in 1997’s ‘The Matrix.’
Reeves would stay active over the 2000s, but didn’t really see any huge blockbuster hits like he had with ‘The Matrix.’
It wasn’t until 2014, however, that he enjoyed yet another comeback, when he played the titular former assassin, John Wick, in the John Wick film series.
So, who is Keanu Reeves’ biological father?
We’re going to look at Keanu Reeves and his amazing career a little later on in this article. For now, however, we need to look at who Keanu Reeves’ biological father is.
Keanu Reeves was raised by his mother, Patricia Taylor, an English costume designer. His father was Samuel Nowlin Reeves, Jr., who originated from Hawaii. Reeves’ mother met his father when she was working in Beirut.
Patricia Taylor and Keanu Reeves attend the 92nd Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland – @Getty
Samuel walked out on Keanu and his mother when Keanu was just three years old.
He abandoned his family and left her to raise Keanu by herself.
Keanu is reported as stating that he never forgave his father for that.
Keanu Reeves last met his father in Hawaii when he was just 13 years of age. He never saw him again. Samuel would pass away on January 26th, 2018.
John Wick – Revitalizing a Career
Keanu Reeves enjoyed a very successful run in Hollywood in the late 80s and 1990s, but during the 2000s and mid-2010s, his career sort of stagnated.
The Matrix sequels tanked, and his other roles were largely forgotten. In 2014, however, everything changed when he starred in John Wick.
On paper, John Wick was nothing more than a silly popcorn action flick designed to give people a break from the usual superhero comic book movies dominating the Box Office at the time.
When the movie was released, however, audiences and critics loved it, and they loved it primarily because of Keanu.
Despite being close to 50 at the time, Keanu trained incredibly hard in both martial arts and firearms training, and he put on the performance of a lifetime.
The fight scenes and action scenes were choreographed beautifully, and the intricate storyline captivated audiences from start to finish.
Because of the success of the first film, Keanu has starred in three more sequels. 2022 John Wick 4, which also starred martial arts legend Donnie Yen, proved to be another smash hit and left audiences begging for Keanu to don his bulletproof Kevlar suit once more.
Because of the success of John Wick, we’ve not only enjoyed three sequels but also a prequel series starring Mel Gibson, entitled ‘Welcome to the Continental’ and a spinoff film set in the John Wick universe and apparently featuring appearances from the titular character, entitled ‘Ballerina.’
A Wholesome Soul
@Getty
As you are also probably aware, Keanu Reeves is considered a national treasure, and people who badmouth him would do so at their peril.
Don’t believe us, just ask Friends actor Matthew Perry, who did just that in writing.
To Matthew’s credit, he did later apologize for his remarks and appeared to show genuine remorse.
Yes, Keanu is beloved, and when you discover how tragic his life has been and how humble he is, you’ll understand precisely why that is.
Keanu had a pretty rough upbringing — as we looked at when we learned about who is Keanu Reeves’ biological father.
The hardships, however, were not left to his childhood. Not only did he overcome dyslexia, but he also lost his best friend, River Phoenix, to a drug overdose.
In the late 1990s, his childhood sweetheart was pregnant with their child and sadly lost the baby.
18 months later, she was sadly killed in a car accident. Shortly after, his sister Kim was diagnosed with leukemia but thankfully made a recovery.
Keanu donated much of his salary from ‘The Matrix’ to hospitals for cancer treatment.
Keanu has also taken pay cuts to ensure better wages for members of the crew working on his movies and has purchased them expensive gifts, including Harley Davidson motorcycles for stunt performers.
Keanu always makes time for his fans; he rides the subway, doesn’t wear expensive clothes, or lives in a multi-million dollar mansion, despite being worth close to $400 million, he donates hugely to charity, and people have nothing but nice things to say about him.
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Lee Parry is a writer and blogger originally from Manchester, UK, and he has a B.A. in Modern Languages from Manchester Metropolitan University. Parry occasionally teaches English and spends most of his free time reading.