Keanu Reeves on growing up in Toronto, getting kicked out of high school and being asked to change his ‘ethnic’ name

Keanu Reeves, the beloved Canadian actor and action movie hero, grew up in a “showbiz” family. His mother was a costume designer, while his stepfather was a Broadway director.

It seemed almost inevitable that he, too, would be bitten by the bug. Indeed, that calling came when Reeves was a teenager in high school.

“My mother says that I came to her when I was 15 and asked if it was OK if I’m an actor,” he recalled in a recent podcast interview.

“She said, ‘Yes, of course, son, whatever you want to do,’” said Reeves, imitating his mother’s British accent.

And the rest — as the cliché goes — is history.

The Beirut-born film star, whose latest film “John Wick: Chapter 4” blew up the box office this month, spoke candidly about his upbringing and career in a wide-ranging interview on Smartless,” a podcast hosted by American actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and fellow Canuck screen actor Will Arnett. Reeves reminisced about spending much of his childhood in Toronto, getting kicked out of high school and being asked to change his “ethnic” name.

Reeves started in theatre and commercials

Shortly after declaring his career intentions at age 15, Reeves threw himself into acting. “I was pretty self-motivated,” he said. By 17, he was taking acting classes and doing Stanislavski voice work.

He was part of a theatre group in midtown Toronto. One of his first roles was playing John Proctor in “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller’s fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials. He also played the mercurial Mercutio in “Romeo and Juliet.” That Shakespeare role, Reeves said, was his first big break.

Afterwards, he hired an agent, “started doing some commercials, and sold some cornflakes and Coca-Cola,” the 58-year-old said on the podcast.

After those advertisement gigs, Reeves, of course, would go on to have an illustrious television and film career. Perhaps best known for his work on “The Matrix” franchise, he has also starred in many other film series, including “Bill & Ted” and, more recently, the “John Wick” action thriller franchise.

“Matrix” actor admits he’s a Leafs fan and was kicked out of high school

But before stardom, Reeves’s childhood looked no different than that of any other Canadian kid. “The story of my past is obviously the story of my mother,” he said earnestly.

Reeves’s mother was born in England but ran away from home when she was around 15, the actor shared. She eventually found her way to Beirut, Lebanon, where she met his father, who grew up in Hawaii but then “got into some trouble, so ended up going to Lebanon, too.”

“It’s a long story,” he said in the “Smartless” interview. “But long story short, me, my sister and my mom ended up moving into a house in Canada. And so that’s how I became Canadian when I was like seven.”

Growing up, he was an avid Maple Leafs fan and himself a goalie. “I played a lot of ice hockey as a kid,” Reeves said with a chuckle, adding that he even continued to play pickup hockey “basically every day” after moving to Los Angeles.

In Toronto, he attended Jesse Ketchum Junior and Senior Public School before attending four high schools, including North Toronto Collegiate Institute and De La Salle College.

He also went to a performing arts high school. “I got kicked out of that,” Reeves said of the latter, rather nonchalantly, without providing any details.

Film star was told to change his “ethnic” name

Later, Reeves got his first car when he was 20 and drove to Hollywood. But his transition to life as a West Coast actor wasn’t at first easy. He recalled how people in the industry told him to change his name.

“They were like, Keanu — it’s too ethnic,” he said. So, for a time, the actor took the initials of his first and middle names and became known as K.C. Reeves. “But then I had auditions, and they’d be like, ‘K.C.,’ and I wouldn’t even look up. So, I went back to my agent and was like, I can’t change my name.”

When looking for work, Reeves always sought out directors with a vision. He looked closely at each script and role before accepting any job, he noted.

“I’ve had the chance to work with some directors who have been able to realize their vision in such extraordinary ways. And so, to be on those sets to be working with those artists is the best,” he said.

Reeves wants to hit 100-film mark

On the podcast, Reeves also reflected on how much the Hollywood scene has shifted since he burst onto the stage roughly four decades ago. Though he was used to paparazzi and the tabloid media, Reeves admits there’s so much more scrutiny and responsibility these days thanks to social media and digital communication.

“Now, there’s definitely more intense pressure on your private life than before,” he said.

Looking ahead, Reeves has no plan to stop acting. In fact, he hopes to achieve 100 film credits to his name. (He said he’s appeared in around 70, thus far.)

“I still love acting. I still love the creativity of it,” he said. “And I still have ambition and hope.”

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