Keanu Reeves is a well-known actor for his roles in The Matrix, John Wick, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and other titles. But he is also beloved by his fans, touted as one of the kindest and generous celebrities in Hollywood. If you only know about Reeves through his films, these 10 stories will give you an entirely new perspective on the A-list actor. [1]
10 Hilarious and Heart-Warming Stories About Keanu Reeves
Numerous charity work
When people call Keanu Reeves generous, there is no exaggeration. He has helped support many charities such as Stand Up To Cancer, PETA, Racing for Kids, SickKids Foundation, Wildlife WayStation, City of Hope, among others. Including his own private foundation to help kids hospitals and cancer research that doesn’t have his name on it. He also helped care for his sister during her long battle with leukemia. [2]
He had donated art to CoachArt. Additionally, he had donated his autographed Talent Pass from the 2006 MTV Movie Awards to the Bid 2 Beat AIDS auction to benefit LIFEbeat. [3]
Amazing with his fans
There are many accounts of Keanu Reeves showing compassion and respect to his fans. One fan posted such an encounter on Reddit. The fan saw Reeves in Paris, going into his trailer after a busy day of filming. When the fan’s mother asked the security guard if the actor was inside, he said yes but he was very tired. “And then Keanu comes out and is like ‘No no it’s fine, always nice to see some friendly faces,’” wrote the fan. “And then he says, in the coolest and chillest manner which my mom quotes to this day and has become a joke within our family— ‘How’s that jet lag treatin you?’— just dripping with swagger. He was incredibly nice to us and down to earth and took a picture and even signed a random piece of paper from our hotel.”
Kind to strangers
His compassion doesn’t only extend to fans, rather, to everyone. “A friend of mine told me that she was once stranded on the side of a highway outside LA when her jalopy broke down,” wrote another Reddit user. “…Then a nice black Porsche pulls over and as you can guess, it was Keanu.” At first, he tried to jump start her car, then called AAA for her since she had no cell phone at the time. “When they towed her car, he offered to drive her home, which she accepted. He drove about 50 miles out of his destination just to drive her home. She told me she hoped he would hit on her but he didn’t, he was just a gentleman, dropped her at her house, gave her his phone number and told her to call him if she needed further help.”
Friendly to film staff
“Back in the late 90s and fresh out of college I got my first job as an assistant prop designer on the set of Chain Reaction (Keanu was a supporting actor with Morgan Freeman),” said a Reddit post. Every day during the last few weeks of filming, Keanu would take out the stage hands and grunt workers for free breakfast and lunch. “He was genuinely a very nice guy to work with.”
The Reddit user added that in their experience working on 30 different sets, Keanu Reeves was the nicest and most generous actor he’s met.
Read: Robin Williams quietly raised $50,000 for a Seattle food bank before his death
And generous to staff
Another Reddit user added to this thread with another anecdote. Their family friend builds movie sets for a living. While working on the set for the Matrix, he was experiencing family trouble. Keanu got wind of this and gave him $20,000 Christmas bonus. “He also was one of the only people on the set that genuinely wanted to know people’s names, would say hello and mean it, and would talk to people as if they were his peers and not below him just because they were practically making nothing to build a set,” concluded the user. “I’ve never heard anyone say Keanu is a douche, seems like the nicest person in Hollywood from a second hand experience.”
“You’re breathtaking”
In June 2019, Keanu Reeves gave a talk at E3, one of the largest video game conferences in the world, when YouTuber Peter Sark yelled out, “You’re breathtaking.”
Without missing a beat, Keanu said, ″You’re breathtaking,” while pointing to the audience. “You’re all breathtaking.” [4]
The story is not over. One month later, Keanu was in the middle of filming the third Bill and Ted flick when he saw a sign referencing the “You’re breathtaking” moment at the convention. Keanu “jumped out of the car,” according to Bill and Ted screenwriter Ed Solomon, and autographed the sign, along with “you’re breathtaking.”
Respectful of women’s boundaries
Many also praise Keanu Reeves for being a gentleman when he poses with women.
Humble and down to earth
Speaking of being a gentleman, this clip from 2011 went viral. It shows Keanu taking the subway in New York City and giving up his seat to another passenger carrying a heavy bag. This was one of his first acts of kindness to get widespread attention.
Another hilarious meeting on public transport
He took a road trip with plane passengers
It’s probably no surprise at this point that Keanu Reeves flies commercially. In March 2019, a fan took the same flight and noted how he was “very pleasant” as he took photos with passengers and talked about his latest project. However, the plane bound for Los Angeles had to make an emergency landing in Bakersfield. The stranded passengers didn’t know what to do so Keanu helped arrange transport. The fan documenting this trip got to ride with Keanu who looked up facts about Bakersfield, played music from his phone, and made small talk with his fellow road trippers.
Keep Reading: ‘Give Her A Call’ – Keanu Reeves Went Out Of His Way To Make An 80-YO Fan’s Day And People Love It
Sources
- “Keanu Reeves.” Biography. August 18, 2015
- “13 times Keanu Reeves was the greatest person ever.” Insider. Libby Torres. January 4, 2022
- “Keanu Reeves Charity Work, Events and Causes.” Look to the Stars.
- “Just Keanu Reeves Telling A Crowd ‘You’re All Breathtaking’.” Huffpost. Kimberly Yam. June 10, 2019
