Keanu Reeves

Though his name suggests he was born in Hawaii, Keanu Reeves was actually born in Beirut, Lebanon. It's from his father, an American of Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, and English descent, that Reeves was given the name Keanu (which loosely translated means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian).

As a child, Reeves grew estranged from his father -- who was in and out of jail -- and traveled the world frequently, living with a string of stepfathers. When his mother met and married director Paul Aaron, the family moved to Toronto, where Reeves primarily grew up. Reeves has admitted that he never excelled at academics growing up, and found solace in hockey and theater instead.

He began acting at just 9 years old, when he appeared in a theater production of Damn Yankees. By his mid-teens, Reeves continued appearing in stage productions, and began landing commercials and small roles in television. His first film was a tiny role opposite Rob Lowe in Youngblood. This prompted his inevitable move to Los Angeles, where with the help of his ex-stepfather Paul Aaron, he secured an agent and landed a major role in the 1986 drama River's Edge. A series of middling films followed, until Reeves landed what seemed like a throwaway role in a film about a couple of stoners who travel through time. Little did Keanu know his life would never be the same.

Keanu Reeves Breaks Out In Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Keanu Reeves' breakout role in the sci-fi stoner romp Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure has proven to be quite the double-edged sword for the accomplished thespian. Here was a hot, young up-and-comer with a lead role in a little-film-that-could -- a film that opened many doors for Reeves but closed them simultaneously.

Ever since gracing the screen as the lovable space cadet Ted in both Excellent Adventure and its 1991 sequel Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, Reeves has been running away from the preconceived notion of him as a brain-dead teenager. To this day, Reeves' often stiff performances are compared to his breakout role, a stigma he has not yet been able to fully escape. It's just a hunch, but something tells us Keanu's bank statement makes whatever pain there is just disappear in a cloud of smoke.

Keanu Reeves: The Action Star

Not content with simply portraying an airheaded teenager, Keanu Reeves became intent on diversifying his career. His first real foray into the action genre was the surf-cum-caper flick Point Break, which was a box office success upon its release and is now widely considered a cult classic. It helped introduce Reeves as an unlikely action hero, and as a full-blown sex symbol, earning him MTV's "Most Desirable Male" award in 1992.

Following the success of Point Break, Reeves continued to explore different avenues with roles in two indie films -- My Own Private Idaho and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues, both directed by Gus Van Sant -- and in Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula. But Reeves had never quite matched the success of his earlier work until he signed on to star in a low profile actioner about a bus and a bomb.

The worldwide success of Speed turned Reeves and his costar Sandra Bullock into instant superstars, and essentially gave Reeves the ability to green light any film just by signing on. But instead of continuing down the Hollywood blockbuster route, Reeves continued to make inspired if not misguided career choices.

Keanu Reeves Stars In The Matrix Trilogy

After a string of flops (excluding The Devil's Advocate), Keanu Reeves decided to take a chance on an odd but inspired sci-fi noir film to be directed by the unheralded but visionary Wachowski brothers. The film was called The Matrix, and it, along with its two subsequent sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, would go on to define the rest of Reeve's career. No matter what he does from here on out, Reeves will forever be known as the hacker-turned-savior Neo, a role that Will Smithturned down (nice one, mate), and one that made Reeves wealthy beyond his wildest dreams.

Can Keanu Reeves Ever Live Up To The Legacy Of The Matrix?

Since breaking the bank with the The Matrix Trilogy, Keanu Reeves has at times appeared like a lost puppy, trying desperately to negotiate the prickly Hollywood landscape. Always the reluctant movie star, Reeves has floated between big-budget blockbusters (Constantine, The Day The Earth Stood Still), generic romcoms (Something's Gotta Give, The Lake House) and offbeat indies (Thumbsucker, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, A Scanner Darkly). Though his career choices are often peculiar, at 45, Reeves has earned the right to carve his own career path without having to kneel in mercy to the box office gods. Upcoming roles in Jekyll andCowboy Bepop look promising, and a rumored romance with Charlize Theron give us hope that one day we'll get to see little Keanus running around the beaches of Malibu, surfing and smoking pot, natch.