Why the world is crazy about Keanu Reeves
Star of "John Wick" and of the video game "Cyberpunk 2077", the 54-year-old actor, canonized by social networks, enjoys immense and unwavering popularity.
Sunday June 9, E3 2019, the annual high mass of video games. The giant Microsoft presents its most anticipated title, Cyberpunk 2077, a very promising science fiction RPG. And, to maintain the enthusiasm of the fans before the release, the publisher unveils its secret boot, the ultimate weapon to also attract in its nets those who are not yet completely conquered. At the end of the game's new trailer, Keanu Reeves appears modeled, with a metallic arm, sunglasses, and class to make you green with envy. Cries of ecstasy in the audience.
The actor arrives on stage to a metal tune, with an angelic smile. He praises the merits of the project, before being interrupted by a spectator who shouts to him: “You are breathtaking! Laughter roars around the room, and Reeves responds the second by paying him his compliment, then congratulating the whole assembly. A declaration of love that ignites social networks, in love more than ever with the 54-year-old actor.
In thirty years of career, Keanu Reeves has not damaged his status as an icon, an elusive star with a flattering reputation, that of a kind, humble guy, devoted to his art. The forties remember him in Point Break (1991) as an FBI surfer agent. Thirties remember Neo's unusual kicks in the cult Matrix trilogy (1999-2003). Cinephiles, on the other hand, remember his roles in My Own Private Idaho (1991) by Gus Van Sant or in Dracula (1992) by Francis Ford Coppola. Keanu (pronounced "Kianou" well) is a jack of all trades. Today, it maintains its popularity with the action saga John Wick, whose last installment, Parabellum, was released last May. And, at the same time, he's the Internet darling, inspiring humorous memes, touching videos, and even conspiracy theories.
His personality is a mixture of sadness and kindness
Keanu Reeves has won the affection of millennials for his personality that has hardly any equivalent in Hollywood. He avoids publicizing his good deeds like so many stars do. A shadow philanthropist, Reeves regularly makes generous donations to associations, especially for cancer research. And, for the release of the two Matrix sequels, the actor donates a significant portion of his earnings to the costume and special effects departments ($ 75 million in total).
Money does not matter to him: when he is offered $ 11 million to shoot the sequel to Speed and the opportunity to play alongside Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Heat, he refuses to go play Hamlet in a small theater of Canada. “His personality is a mixture of sadness and kindness, while being both down to earth and enigmatic at the same time. You could say that it is a contradiction shrouded in a layer of mystery! Analyzes Kitty Curran, co-author of the book For Your Consideration: Keanu Reeves.
When other Hollywood superstars flood the pages of the celebrity press, Reeves evades rumors by preventing any foray into his drama-scarred private life (he had an unstable childhood, he had to deal with the disappearance of his close friend. River Phoenix in 1993, his ex-wife, with whom he lost a child, was killed in 2001). In the 1990s, some journalists even imagine that he secretly married David Geffen, CEO of Geffen Records. Surreal!
On the Internet, the favorite sport of followers of social networks is to exchange anecdotes around Keanu Reeves. There are those who have had the privilege of crossing paths with him, such as the time he reassured passengers of a flight after an emergency landing. When a New Yorker journalist calls on Internet users to identify stories about the actor, testimonies abound. Usually, these lucky little ones talk about a smiling person who is easy to have a conversation with. “We talked about guitars, motorcycles and whiskeys for thirty minutes,” recalls a Twitter user, spotted by the Guardian.
In 2011, a video in which the actor simply leaves his place for a pregnant woman in the metro goes around the Web and reinforces his image as a saint canonized by the networks. And then we also remember this photo taken in 1997 by a paparazzi where we see him spending the night with a homeless man. La Toile particularly appreciates the marks of respect he shows for women when he poses for a photo with them, preferring not to touch them on the back.
keanu reeves exchanging wisdom with a homeless man pic.twitter.com/oSnu7DKFqF
— keanu doing things (@keanuthings) March 4, 2018
“He is someone who seems to have constant pleasant contact with the public. The internet tends to capture those moments, and spread them all over the place so that everyone can see her cuteness, ”says Kitty Curran. "But, being a very private person, we feel, however, in many of his interviews, that he would like all these moments, even if they are pleasant, not to be constantly transformed into memes and viral videos. . "
Lol Keanu ain’t taking no chances. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/nnfIOZKbT1
— KaL (@_TertiumQuid) June 9, 2019
Is Keanu Reeves immortal?
The most famous image of Keanu Reeves on the Internet is the famous "Sad Keanu" meme. In 2010, in a photograph taken by a paparazzi, the interpreter of Neo appears alone on the side of a bench, with vague eyes, eating a sandwich. An image that most considered sad, or at least touching, and which ended up being diverted multiple times by Internet users (the actor has since made fun of his depressive image by publishing a collection in 2016 sad poems).
“The world is not currently having its best moments. As a result, I think we're all trying to reach out to something familiar, something good to turn our attention to. Being a fan of Keanu is something that a lot of people have in common. I think they enjoy this common ground, just as they love to turn it into a meme and make him their “boyfriend”, ”says Larissa Zageris, co-author of the book For Your Consideration: Keanu Reeves. Reeves is also the subject of multiple conspiracy theories.
At 54, the actor is doing very well, and some believe he has managed to find a method not to age or just that he is immortal. A site even took charge of gathering all the “proofs” (the actor and Charlemagne would be one and the same person, the hell!). "My favorite is the vampire's!" The one who wants him and part of the cast of Coppola's Dracula to really become vampires during the shoot, which would explain why they look eternally young even after so many years, ”recalls Kitty Curran.
Keanu Reeves may not have the ease of a Daniel Day-Lewis or a Leonardo DiCaprio, but the Canadian star is heavily invested in his various roles, which makes him all the more popular. Even though he knows full well that he will never be an Oscar actor, Reeves is still working hard. For the purposes of The Matrix, he spends four months with choreographer Yuen Woo-ping (who also worked with Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen) to train in combat and reproduce on screen a mix of different martial arts never before seen in the world. movie theater. For the purposes of the John Wick action films, he devotes himself to drastic physical training, and learns a new form of jiu-jitsu. He has also become an excellent shooter worthy of a real US Marine (you only have to see the video of his training for John Wick 3, with Halle Berry, to be convinced of this).
2019 is already the year of Keanu Reeves. Released last month, the latest John Wick film was a box office success, grossing more than $ 257 million worldwide (a fourth opus is already in preparation). On May 29, Keanu Reeves also caused a stir when he appeared in the trailer for the Netflix movie Always Be My Maybe, stealing the limelight from the main cast in the process. And we will find the star in a few weeks at the poster of Toy Story 4, in which she doubles as a somewhat crazy stunt toy. Who will be the first to find fault with it?
