Over the years Keanu Reeves has earned himself the title of Mr Nice Guy in Hollywood following an endless series of selfless gestures.
Reeves’ colleagues and fans have come out to commend the actor’s kind-hearted nature and shared their positive experiences of the star.
Tales that have been told include Reeves, 59, handing out expensive Rolex watches to the John Wick stunt crew and gifting Harley Davidson motorcycles to the stunt people who worked on The Matrix Reloaded.
Reeves has also been known to take a pay cut from his own salary in order to benefit the film as whole, whether that is to accommodate other big stars being brought onto the cast or adding to the special effects and costume budget.
The screen star’s latest project has been releasing a book which he co-authored with China Miéville, 51, titled The Book of Elsewhere, which is based on his comic book series BRZRKR.
While those who worked on the novel will no doubt receive some kind of incredible gesture from the actor, MailOnline takes a look back at the other good deeds Reeves has done which have made him the nicest guy in Hollywood…
KEANU GIVES AWAY EXPENSIVE ROLEX WATCHES TO JOHN WICK’S STUNT PEOPLE
To show his gratitude to his John Wick 4 (pictured) stunt people, Reeves reportedly gifted them each a $9,150 engraved Rolex Submariner
The actor also reportedly gifted 12 Harley Davidson motorcycles to the stunt team on The Matrix Reloaded; seen on screen in December 2021 in LA
Reeves has a habit of showing his thanks to crew members who worked on his films.
Ahead of the release of John Wick 4, Reeves showed his appreciation to the crackerjack stunt team on the blockbuster series by handing out expensive Rolex watches to all of them.
The luxury watches, tasteful Rolex Submariners, were reportedly worth around $9,150 each, for a total of $36,600.
The time pieces were even more valuable to the stunt crew, though, as Reeves had each one engraved to share his thanks.
‘Thank you Keanu JW4 2021,’ the watches said on the inside face, according to a stunt person who revealed the gifts.
Reeves has also shown incredible generosity to his stunt team on The Matrix Reloaded.
To show his gratitude for their flawless work, he reportedly gave each member of the 12-person team a Harley Davidson motorcycle after their work on screen with motorcycles.
TAKING A PAY CUT TO WORK WITH AL PACINO
After he was cast in The Devil’s Advocate (19997), Reeves discovered Al Pacino wouldn’t be working on the film due to its budget
Over the years, Reeves has become known to take pay cuts from his own mega salary’s in order to benefit the film.
The contracts for The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions saw him drop his fee so more money would be available for costumes and special effects.
After he was cast in The Devil’s Advocate (19997), Reeves discovered Al Pacino wouldn’t be working on the film due to its budget.
But Reeves was so keen to have Pacino work on the movie, he took a huge pay cut in order to make both of their salaries work.
Three years later, the actor reportedly took a pay cut so that he could star alongside Gene Hackman in The Replacements.
KEANU TREATS FRIENDS AND COWORKERS TO FREE TRIP TO MATRIX RESURRECTIONS PREMIERE
Reeves showed his friends, longtime team members and coworkers how much they meant to him by flying them out to see the Matrix Resurrections premiere in San Francisco, according to The Hollywood Reporter Carrie-Anne Moss, 54, and director Lana Wachowski, 56
THR reported that the Point Break star extended invitations to all of his representatives including his agents, manager and publicist; still from The Matrix Resurrections
Keanu garnered praise for being a ‘gem of a person’ as a viral video of the actor helping crew carry equipment while filming John Wick 4 resurfaced online
Reeves showed his friends, longtime team members and coworkers how much they meant to him by flying them out to see the Matrix Resurrections premiere in San Francisco, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
‘Yeah, it’s great to be able to share our experiences and lives together,’ he told the publication, modestly.
Chad Stahelski, who has direcred Reeves in the John Wick films, confirmed the act of generosity.
‘He flew a bunch of us up here,’ he said on the red carpet at the iconic Castro Theatre.
‘He’s incredibly generous. In the audience tonight will be so many people that helped him, from his martial art trainers to jiu-jitsu trainers to hair and makeup to his stunt crew.
‘He makes sure that his friends and family are here. He’s epic,’ Stahelski added.
Keanu was looking out for his behind-the-scenes team, as he reportedly flew out all of his representatives, including his agents, manager and publicist.
Family, friends, crew members and insiders were also part of the party heading to San Francisco.
Reeves reportedly picked up the tab for the private jet travel, as well as hotel accommodations, the actual premiere tickets and even gifts for his guests.
More recently, a video shot in 2021 resurfaced, showing him giving his crew on John Wick 4 a helping hand.
The video showed Reeves helping to carry some boxes up a set of stairs. Normally, a star of his caliber on a production of that size wouldn’t be enlisted to help the crew set up between takes, but Keanu showed that the film was a true team effort.
KEANU DELIGHTS FANS WITH HIS LOVING WORDS ABOUT HIS PARTNER ALEXANDRA GRANT
Reeves, 58, warmed the hearts of his fans after gushing about his most recent blissful moment, when he was ‘in bed’ and ‘connected’ to his partner Alexandra Grant, 49; pictured in June 2022
‘We were smiling and laughing and giggling. Feeling great. It was just really nice to be together.’ Fans have applauded him for dating an age-appropriate woman, and they have saluted the artist for rocking her natural grey hair
When Reeves was recently asked about what his most recent bliss-filled moment was by People, the actor didn’t have any trouble thinking of something.
‘A couple of days ago with my honey. We were in bed. We were connected,’ he gushed about time with his partner Alexandra Grant.
‘We were smiling and laughing and giggling. Feeling great. It was just really nice to be together.’
Reeves and Grant, a visual artist, were first introduced by mutual friends in 2009, though they didn’t make their relationship public until 2019.
‘I think every single person I knew called me in the first week of November, and that’s fascinating,’ she told British Vogue a few months after making her red carpet debut in November 2019 with her boyfriend.
Keanu’s fans were over-the-moon after seeing the cute couple together, and many applauded the A-lister for finding love with an age-appropriate partner, while others saluted her for proudly showing off her natural gray hair.
THE ACTOR HAS REMAINED OPTIMISTIC DESPITE MULTIPLE PERSONAL TRAGEDIES
Keanu left plenty of wet eyes in the audience in studio and at home during a 2019 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, when the host asked him what happens after we die
He stunned Colbert when he replied, ‘I know that the ones who love us will miss us.’ Reeves lost his best friend River Phoenix to a drug overdose, his daughter with Jennifer Syme to a stillbirth in 1999, and Syme herself to a tragic car crash in 2001
Keanu left plenty of wet eyes in the audience in studio and at home during a 2019 appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
After talking about mortality in regard to John Wick 3, Colbert asked the actor what he thought happens after we die.
After a moment of thought, Reeves replied, ‘I know that the ones who love us will miss us.’
In 1993, he endured a personal tragedy when his best friend, the meteoric actor River Phoenix, died of a drug overdose at the age of 23.
In 1998, Reeves began dating the actress and executive Jennifer Syme. In late 1999, Syme went into labor a month early and delivered their stillborn child.
Although the couple broke up weeks after the tragedy, they had reportedly reconciled later, only for Syme to die after she crashed her car in 2001.
Reeves later told investigators that the two had had brunch just a day before her untimely death, according to People, and he later served as a pallbearer at her funeral.
Syme was buried next to the couple’s stillborn daughter.
KEANU DELIGHTS NEWLYWEDS BY PHOTOBOMBING THEIR WEDDING
Reeves celebrity has made him a prized addition to many social events, even weddings. In August of 2022, Reeves surprised a couple at their wedding in Northamptonshire (pictured). He previously photobombed other weddings in 2018
Reeves celebrity has made him a prized addition to many social events, even weddings.
In August of 2022, Reeves surprised a couple at their wedding in Northamptonshire.
He bumped into customer sales rep James Roadnight and his wife Nikki, who works with dogs, because he happened to be staying in the same four-star hotel as them.
Reeves had previously delighted two other couples in 2018 when he posed for joyous photos after their nuptials.
THE MATRIX STAR DONATES LAVISHLY TO CHARITIES, OFTEN ANONYMOUSLY
Reeves has donated to children’s hospitals and cancer charities, both privately and publicly, after his younger sister Kim battled leukemia; seen in July 2022 in San Diego
Reeves was reportedly inspired by his younger sister Kim Reeves’ past battle with leukemia, and has since taken to donating significant amounts to children’s hospitals and cancer research to give back.
However, unlike many stars who attach their famous names to their charitable work, he has apparently given away much of his money secretly.
‘I have a private foundation that’s been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children’s hospitals and cancer research. I don’t like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does,’ he told Ladies Home Journal in 2009, via Snopes.
Reeves hasn’t always kept his charity in secret, however. In 2020, the Point Break star auctioned off a 15-minute Zoom call with himself to raise funds for a children’s cancer charity.
FANS MARVEL OF REEVES’ RESPECT FOR HIS FEMALE COSTARS
Fans noticed in 2019 that Reeves tends to keep his hands hovering behind his female costars when posing on the red carpet, rather than touching them
As more and more male stars’ bad — and even criminal behavior — has been revealed over the years, Keanu has emerged as the gold standard.
Although he has cultivated great relationships with his female costars on set, his sterling behavior on the red carpet has also garnered him praise.
It’s not uncommon for male stars to wrap their arms around their female costars while posing for the cameras, and many women in Hollywood wouldn’t mind the display from their friends and colleagues, but Reeves appears to put his costars’ comfort front and center.
In 2019, social media was awash in praise for him after fans noticed that he has a habit of letting his hand hover behind the women he poses with, rather than touching them.
The move was seen as a courtesy to his leading ladies and a sign that he didn’t want to invade their personal space.
But Reeves’ good behavior doesn’t just extend to his costars, but even his fans.
In 2019, SBNation.com writer James Dator said that when he was a teenager, the actor noticed that he had been trying to get an autograph while working in a movie theater.
He said that Reeves returned to the concessions stand, bought an ice cream, then gave him the receipt with his signature added to the back, then threw away the ice cream, which he apparently bought just to delight Dator with the signature.
