Keanu Charles Reeves (
, often mispronounced as kee-AH-noo; born September 2, 1964) is a
Lebanese-born
Canadian-American actor, best known for his portrayals of a spaced-out metalhead in
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (which went on to become a
cult classic) and in two action films that were both financial and critical successes: the "ticking time bomb" thriller
Speed and the science fiction-action trilogy
The Matrix. He has worked under major directors, such as with
Stephen Frears (in the 1988 period drama
Dangerous Liaisons);
Gus Van Sant (in the gritty
1991 independent film My Own Private Idaho (also written by Van Sant)); and
Bernardo Bertolucci (in the 1993 film
Little Buddha). His role as a rookie FBI agent in the 1991 surf drama
Point Break (opposite
Patrick Swayze) was praised by
The New York Times critic
Janet Maslin, who stated that Reeves "...displays considerable discipline and range.".
In addition to his film roles, Reeves has also performed in theater. His performance in the
title role in a
Manitoba Theatre Centre production of
Hamlet was praised by
Roger Lewis, the
Sunday Times, who called Reeves "...one of the top three Hamlets I have seen, for a simple reason: he * is* Hamlet." On January 31, 2005, Reeves received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. In an
ET online survey in 2006, he was included in the "Top Ten of America's Favorite Stars".
