Keanu Reeves is probably the sweetest and most down to earth actor in existence. Besides his charming persona, Reeves is known for many notorious roles. Reeves played Johnny Utah in Point Break as an undercover cop who infiltrated a group of surfers who robbed banks. He was a heartthrob police officer alongside Sandra Bullock in the 1996 film Speed.
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His most notorious role is playing Neo in the fantasy’sci-fi films The Matrix. In 2014, Reeves took on a new role that titled him as a total badass. The John Wick franchise films follow a retired legendary assassin with a long and violent career. Insane fight scenes, open wounds, gunfire and some insane stunts are the definition of John Wick. Real-life actor Keanu Reeves also has his moments where he resembles the character.
10 Tactical Training
Reeves had to prepare for his role with combat and weapons training. John Wick, aka ‘The Boogeyman’, is a skilled assassin and Reeves wanted to play the part to the fullest of his capabilities. World champion sharpshooter Taran Butler was brought in for John Wick: Chapter 2 to elevate Reeves tactical and weapons training.
In order to play a master assassin on screen, you have to train like one and that’s exactly what Reeves did. Reeves was brought in to training three times a week and blew away the crew with his ability to step up his improvement with every practice run.
9 Trained in Jiu-Jitsu
Back when Reeves played the role of Neo in The Matrix films, he had to learn various forms of martial arts. The Matrix films are known for the intense fight scenes between Neo and Smith. Neo gets hardwired with countless fighting techniques when he is programmed to help destroy the machines. For the film, Keanu learned jiu-jitsu, wushu and boxing.
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John Wick is also a skilled fighter. Thankfully, Keanu kept training even after filming The Matrix. Reeves was still trained by fight coordinators and experienced fighters in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He even received an honorary black belt.
8 His Love For Motorcycles and Cars
In the films, John Wick drives almost anything he can get this hands-on. If it has a motor or the ability to get him from one place to another, he can drive it. Reeves also happens to be a bike and car aficionado in his free time much like his character. Reeves’s personal collection includes the 998 Ducati motorcycle ridden by Carrie-Anne Moss in Matrix Reloaded. His collection even includes the highly sought after 1973 Norton Commando. Collectors are itching to get their hands on it.
Reeves is not only an aficionado of motorcycles, but he also designs them. ARCH Motorcycle Company designs and builds custom motorcycles for clients. The first bike designed and built was by Keanu and a local bike builder. It’s called the KRTT-1 with a V-Twin engine.
7 A Dog Lover
Animals are a weak spot for most people, especially Keanu Reeves. In a Buzzfeed interview, adorable puppies were brought in while Reeves answered fan questions. The adorable and pure interaction will melt your heart. In the films, John Wick also finds companionship with dogs. In the first film, Wick was delivered a puppy as a gift from his wife after her death.
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If you haven’t watched the film this might be a sad spoiler. The puppy is killed when Wick’s home gets robbed by mobster Losef Tarasov. In the second film of the franchise, Wick finds a friend in a grey pitbull who is an absolute sweetheart. The pitbull in the second and third film remains nameless but loyal to Wick.
6 Red Carpet Style
Every assassin has their look that intimidates others or becomes part of their work attire. John Wick in every fight scene is wearing a suit. It doesn’t sound very comfortable, but it does make Wick look dark and brooding. Especially when the suit is tailored all black with a black necktie and dress shirt. He also wears some nice black dress shoes to finish it off.
Reeves’s red carpet style doesn’t waver much from Wick’s personal style. At the premiere of Toy Story 4, you might as well have believed that John Wick was walking the carpet. Reeved was dressed in the same black color scheme tailored suit from top to bottom. This time he did opt-out for a nice brown leather boot.
5 Life Off The Grid
Keanu Reeves is one of those famous actors who decided to never take part in the craze of social media. Reeves is mostly caught by paparazzi out and about in California, on set or at special events. There are the occasional fan encounters where they are lucky enough to converse and snap a picture with Reeves.
Reeves, despite being an A-list celebrity, is rarely seen plastered on the covers of tabloid magazines. Any Keanu Reeves Instagrams or Twitters are most likely fake. He shares the same need for privacy as John Wick. In the films, Wick keeps to himself in his isolated home away from populated areas. As a trained killer assassin, Wick keeps his personal life to himself. The only people who know of his career were the people in the business and trusted local police. The same goes for his marriage.
4 Polite Gentleman
In real life being a polite gentleman is a character trait to cherish. Reeves is known among his fans and colleagues for being one of the kindest and most polite people they have met. During meet and greets with fans and celebrities, he has made sure to have appropriate hand placement when taking photos with women. Many fans express his manners when having a quick interaction in public.
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Putting aside the assassin, Wick is a polite guy as well. In the first film when a police officer comes to Wick’s home to evaluate a noise complaint, he calmly opens the doors and greets the officer with, “Evening Jimmy.” He even gives a simple goodnight farewell. With people he has no need to kill, he is courteous and polite.
3 Understanding Grief
Reeves and John Wick have a certain commonality that many people may not expect. In John Wick, Wick is dealing with the grief of losing his beloved wife. To make matters worse the last parting gift from his wife was killed by a childish mobster. Being an assassin doesn’t come with a lot of companionships.
In an interview with The Guardian, Reeves found Wick’s grief as something to relate to. In 1999, his long-time girlfriend Jennifer Syme gave birth to a stillborn daughter. Unable to get past the grief, they broke up. Two years later, Syme died in a car accident.
2 Enjoys A Good Drink
On the rare occasions that Keanu Reeves is spotted by paparazzi, he’s often having dinner and enjoying a nice alcoholic drink. This has ranged from a nice cup of red wine to an ice-cold beer.
Reeves and Wick share the same desire for an alcoholic beverage every once in a while. Wick tends to go for a stronger drink of bourbon or tequila. Specifically, Blaton’s bourbon seen in the second film and Peligroso tequila in the first.
1 Takes Public Transportation
Despite Reeves living in Los Angeles, he is a frequent visitor of New York. There’s no better way to get around New York than by public subway. There are numerous fan photos of Reeves being just like the locals and riding a packed subway car.
A majority of the John Wick films take place in the Big Apple. Wick has an intense fight scene with Cassian (Common) in a PATH train inside the World Trade Center.
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