To say that Keanu is a jack-of-all-trades is an understatement. Keanu was not much of a bookworm when growing up but he had many other talents. He played hockey in high school and was an excellent goalie for his team. He also played the bass for a band called Dogstar. He has a published poetry book and is a huge fan of motorcycles. Keanu’s major interest and moneymaker has been acting. He has appeared in a few plays and many blockbuster movies as a lead character.

Keanu mostly plays the action hero but he has also appeared in romantic and comedy films. He is not about to step away from the TV screens given his recent appearance in the John Wick films. The 55-year-old has had a successful career in Hollywood; his net worth currently stands at $360 million. People describe Keanu as daring, funny and his most outstanding quality is his noble nature. However, there are a few weird facts about the actor that are a bit of a head-scratcher.

20 Keanu Has Not Always Been An American

Keanu Reeves is American through a green card. He was born in Lebanon in 1964 to Patricia Taylor who is English. His biological father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves was born in Hawaii and has Portuguese, Chinese as well as British descent. Keanu lived in Australia and New York before moving permanently to Canada where he acquired citizenship. According to factinate.com, he became an American when his mother married his stepfather.

19 His Name Describes His Personality

As revealed on collider.com Keanu is a Hawaiian name, which means 'cool breeze over the mountain'. The name was derived from his great-great-uncle who went by the name Keaweaheulu. Many people especially those who are close to Keanu say that his name describes him and his stoic personality perfectly.

18 Keanu Was A Troubled Child In High School

Keanu has played intellectual roles in his movies but he was not always so serious when growing up. As stated on moneyinc.com, Keanu was not the brightest and most disciplined student in high school. His only interest at that time was ice hockey and pursuing acting. Luckily, he ended up being a great actor.

17 He Almost Tried To Become A Pro Hockey Player

Keanu was a great hockey player in his teen years. He was especially a good goalkeeper; his teammates even nicknamed him ‘the wall’. His love for hockey and theatre is what probably kept him in school. As reported on Brightside.me, Keanu even aspired to represent the Canadian National Team at the Olympics.

16 He Plays The Bass

Keanu is a man with many talents. He is an excellent actor, he was good at sports and shockingly, he was a member of a band by the name Dogstar from 1991 to 2002. Keanu was the bass player. According to factinate.com, Dogstar band members were together for 11 years. They have released two albums and an extended play record.

15 He Is A Shakespeare Actor

There is no question that Keanu is a great action movie actor. He has also taken lead roles in romantic movies but what is even more surprising is that Keanu is also a Shakespeare actor. As narrated on obsev.com he starred in a Romeo and Juliet production when he was a teenager. He has also played in Much Ado About Nothing as Don Jon and played as Hamlet in play at Manitoba Theater Centre.

14 Keanu Has Written A Poetry Book

Together with artist Alexandra Grant, Keanu has a poetry book titled Ode to Happiness. As Brightside.me describes, each page in the book has a melodramatic line of poetry accompanied by a blotted ink picture by the artist. The book is supposedly Keanu’s response to the sad meme of himself that was once circulating on the internet.

13 Keanu Refused To Appear In Speed 2

Keanu enjoyed filming Speed but when he read the script for Speed 2, he turned down the role of the lead character and walked away from $11 million as revealed on collider.com. According to the actor, the idea of using boats in the film was too slow and appearing in the film would ruin his career. True to what he thought, Speed 2 was a complete disaster but Keanu still suffered from his decision not to appear in the film. He never got a major movie role for the next 15 years.

12 Keanu Has Had Multiple Motorcycle Accidents

Collider.com confirms that the Keanu list of interests is still wide. The matrix actor is obsessed with motorbikes. He owns quite a number and has gifted even close friends with them. The actor also has his own motorcycle manufacturing company. Interestingly, Keanu has had multiple injuries while riding and he is not about to give up on his hobby

11 He Had An Onscreen Wedding Ceremony

Before their recent appearance in Destination wedding, Keanu and Winona Ryder were on TV together in the film Dracula. In one of the scenes from the movie, the two get married but what is strange about the wedding ceremony is that it was performed by a real Romanian priest. As indicated on obsev.com, the couple has not had any other ceremony since then so it is safe to assume that their TV wedding ceremony was it.

10 Keanu Still Wears His T-shirt Suit Combo

More than 30 years later, Keanu still loves wearing his suits with a t-shirt as seen on boredpanda.com. His style has not changed much over the years. The most notable change is probably the long hair. The Speed actor has a big heart and has donated money to benefit other people. He would rather hold his shoes with tape than waste money buying another pair of shoes.

9 He Is Addicted To Cigarettes 

Keanu picked up smoking while he was filming Feeling Minnesota. His character in the film was a smoker so he had to play the part. Unfortunately, using the live props got him hooked onto the habit as seen on boredpanda.com. Keanu has been a smoker since the age of 30. He attempted to quit in 2008 but was unsuccessful.

8 He Shaved His Head In Protest

The director of Speed was hesitant about shooting Keanu with long hair in the film. He was very vocal about the actor’s hippie look. As disclosed on Brightside.me, when Keanu got wind of the information, he shaved his head bald. The entire movie crew had to wait until some hair grew back for filming to commence.

7 He Has A Criminal Record

Keanu was a troubled teenager but he somehow managed to put his act together and venture into acting among other interests. However, in 1993 as revealed on factinate.com, Keanu was arrested with a DUI charge. In 2006, he also found himself on the wrong side of the law when he ran a red light.

6 Keanu Has Never Been Nominated For An Oscar

Despite his success in the film industry, Keanu has never been nominated for an Oscar award. According to factinate.com, he has 13 MTV movie awards, A Most Desirable Male, Best On-Screen Duo, Best Fight, and Best Male Performance awards. Keanu has also been labeled the worst actor three times and the worst supporting actor two times.

5 Keanu Has Seen A Ghost

When Keanu was a child, he supposedly saw a ghost floating on water. He gave a vivid description of the encounter while on an interview with Jimmy Kimmel. Obsev.com continues to say that the ghost was in a floating jacket. He would have dismissed the thought had it not been for his nanny’s reaction. She appeared as though she had seen something terrible.

4 If He Were To Change His Name He Would Call Himself…

When Keanu got into acting, his agent was worried that people would have a difficult time trying to pronounce his name. Therefore, he advised Keanu to consider changing his name to a much easier one. As listed on collider.com, Keanu came up with the following names, “K.C. Reeves,” “Norman Kreeves,” “Chuck Spadina,” and, “Page Templeton III.”

3 Most Of His Characters On TV Are Called John

Most of the characters Keanu has played over the years go by the name John. As pointed out on factinate.com, there is John Wall, Don John, Johnny Utah, John Constantine, John Rain and more recently, John Wick. This is either a request from Keanu before signing his contracts or a strange bizarre coincidence.

2 He Never Graduated From High School

Keanu was a rebel, especially in his high school days. He did not give too much focus on his studies and was not afraid of talking back at faculty how he wanted. As reported on factinate.com. He changed high schools four times before he was finally expelled from Etobicoke School of Arts. He did not enroll in another school after that so it is safe to say that he never graduated from high school.

1 He's Faces His Fair Share Of Tragedies

Keanu has seen his fair share of mishaps. Aside from his father abandoning him when he was a little boy, he also lost two loved ones. According to moneyinc.com, Keanu’s daughter was stillborn at eight months. 18 months later, the mother of the child lost control of her car while driving and passed away.

references: factinate, collider.com, Obsev.com, Brightside, boredpanda,