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Keanu Reeves wasn't sad.

"I'm conscionable eating a sandwich, man!" the histrion insisted connected the Late Show With Stephen Colbert last December erstwhile the big showed him the photograph that evolved into the infamous "Sad Keanu" meme. So to confirm, helium wasn't really sad?

"I was thinking," Reeves explained. "I had immoderate worldly going on. I was hungry." 

So, that's 1 enigma astir 1 of Hollywood's much backstage nationalist figures solved. Partially, astatine least. "Stuff going on" isn't precisely a peek into the interior sanctum.

Asked wherefore he'd proven truthful meme-able, Reeves replied, "I person nary clue, sir."

Still, erstwhile you person Reeves sitting successful beforehand you, thoughtful pupil of beingness that helium is, you don't skip the accidental to inquire the truly heavy questions.

Keanu Reeves Almost Wasn't Keanu Reeves

"I haven't truly thought astir my vocation future, oregon what was going to happen, until truly recently," helium besides told GQ in 2019 while connected his promotional circuit for John Wick: Chapter 3— Parabellum, the astir caller installment successful the surprise-hit franchise astir a not-so-retired hitman cloaked in grief who can't halt coming up with caller ways to nonstop vengeance connected evildoers. (Chapter 4 is owed retired adjacent March.)

Asked wherefore helium had started reasoning astir the future, successful immoderate respect, he replied, "Death!"

"I came to Hollywood to beryllium successful movies," Reeves told Parade in 2019. "I consciousness truly grateful that I've had that opportunity, but I'm conscionable a backstage person, and it's bully that tin inactive exist."

He doesn't adjacent publicize his foundation work, but his causes see children's hospitals, warring cancer, the arts and the environment. He's besides been known to give generous gifts to his stunt crews (the John Wick: Chapter 4 team got Rolex Submariners) oregon play Kern County circuit usher erstwhile his level is rerouted to Bakersfield and helium and his chap stranded passengers need busing to L.A.

"I ever find it surreal that implicit strangers travel up and inquire maine idiosyncratic questions," helium told Parade back successful 2008. "I don't caput speaking astir work, but erstwhile the speech turns to 'Who are you?' and 'What bash you bash off-screen?' I'm like, 'Get retired of here.' I've been successful situations wherever radical person felt they had a narration with maine oregon thing and I didn't adjacent cognize who they were."

Trust him, erstwhile you person a narration with Reeves, you'll know—even if the satellite doesn't drawback up for awhile. For immoderate crushed helium picked November 2019 arsenic the clip to reveal, connected the reddish carpet at the LACMA Art + Film Gala, that helium had been coupled up for years (and perchance an full decade) with creator Alexandra Grant, his spouse successful the Los Angeles-based X Artists' Books.

Ted, Johnny Utah, Jack Travern, Neo, John Wick: each characters that successful hindsight had to beryllium played by Reeves. He's done everything from Shakespeare (he turned down Speed 2 to play Hamlet onstage successful Canada) to sports flicks to A Scanner Darkly, and in 2019 you heard his dependable arsenic Duke Caboom, a motorcycle-riding stuntman with a wistful backstory, in Toy Story 4, which made much than $1 billion, easy overtaking The Matrix Reloaded ($742 cardinal worldwide) as his azygous highest-grossing movie.

"So I made Duke a small much gravelly but inactive tried to springiness him vigor and a large personality," Reeves shared with Entertainment Weekly successful March 2020. "I conscionable thought that Duke should emotion what helium does. He's the top stuntman successful Canada! I wanted him to beryllium perpetually doing poses connected the motorcycle portion helium was talking, to person this large extroverted passion."

He was besides 1 of the galore celebs who packed into Between Two Ferns: The Movie; but, perhaps astir memorably, helium made a splash spoofing himself successful a top-secret cameo in the deed Netflix rom-com Always Be My Maybe, playing "Keanu Reeves" arsenic an over-the-top philosopher who astatine the extremity of the time (or a 12-course repast and an impromptu brawl) is inactive your mean indulgent movie star.

In existent life, he's perfectly congenial yet usually looks somewhat serious, but not due to the fact that he's taking himself seriously—it's much arsenic if helium wants to answer even the astir lighthearted of questions with respectful gravity. But hey, arsenic Colbert recovered out, if you inquire Reeves a perchance loaded question, hole to get an answer.

Asked by Parade successful 2008 if helium believed successful aliens, due to the fact that helium was playing the alien Klaatu successful a remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still, helium replied, "Some days I do. Some days I don't. There's truthful overmuch unexplained and unexplainable phenomena that's presented to us. But beyond that, the cosmos is truthful vast. We can't beryllium the lone sentient entity. It mightiness not look similar us, but it's going to beryllium retired there."

His signature Keanu cadence used to beryllium mistaken for a motion of vacuity, but Reeves attributed nevertheless helium came disconnected successful interviews to his wide discomfort with talking astir himself.

"I've ne'er played anserine to support idiosyncratic distant," he told Vanity Fair successful 1995. "I don't play stupid. Either it's been a nonaccomplishment connected my portion to articulate, oregon my naivete, oregon ingenuousness, oregon sometimes it's the quality of the form... And you know, I find myself much capable to springiness an mentation of a task 5 years aboriginal than successful the mediate of it. It's truthful present-tense! I tin archer you however I feel, but its discourse is harder to explain... Sometimes erstwhile I'm interviewed I'm not acceptable to bash that. So you say...'excellent!' And you cognize what, man? It's OK."

It surely was.

All this clip Reeves has astir apt been much intent connected protecting Grant's privateness than thing else, but present that his narration presumption is officially retired there, the antheral whose mantra, oregon deficiency thereof, remains "whatever, man," isn't too cagey to admit his home situation.

"It's been truly fantastic to beryllium with Alexandra," helium shared with Parade during the summertime oregon 2020 connected his virtual joint property circuit for the years-in-the-developing Bill and Ted Face the Music. "We bask each other's company, you know, immoderate that whitethorn be. Once the beaches opened up, we went for a motorcycle ride, and we person a mates of projects. We person a publication institution together, X Artists' Books, and she's doing her art."

"I've got immoderate originative things going on: moving connected a comic book, trying to bash a documentary, moving connected a tv bid and past moving connected a publication for [the next] John Wick, different Matrix movie that's successful a holding pattern," helium said. "I don't person kids oregon thing similar that, truthful I get to beryllium little responsible! The time is benignant of like, 'What, creatively, tin I do?'"

He said his archetypal post-pandemic travel would beryllium a motorcycle travel done Europe—which sounds astir close for the longtime rider.

And if motorcycles person provided 1 soul-soothing salve for Reeves, his time occupation provides another.

"In acting, you're perpetually discovering caller feelings and thoughts and exposing yourself to them," helium told Parade in 2008. "I conjecture it could beryllium considered psycho-therapy. All I cognize is that, arsenic an actor, I tin archer you a communicative that you'll perceive to. Maybe it won't conscionable entertain you, it mightiness besides thatch you something. I deliberation movie has the powerfulness to alteration your beingness if you privation to fto it."

Combine his real-life inscrutability with his is-it-genius-or-does-he-just-do-the-same-thing-every-time approach to acting, and he's go much story than man—and that, too, is simply a immense portion of his appeal. He's just so Keanu.

His archetypal acting job came connected the Canadian series Hangin' In successful 1984. Then helium moved to Los Angeles and made his big-screen debut successful the Rob Lowe-starring drama Youngblood successful 1986. Later that twelvemonth he won his archetypal large role in the gritty teen transgression drama River's Edge, which went connected to triumph Best Feature astatine the Independent Spirit Awards.

So it was disconnected to the races for Reeves, who successful the adjacent 5 years made a wildly divers array of movies, including the very-'80s drama The Night Before, Dangerous Liaisons, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (and its sequel, Bogus Journey), Parenthood, Point Break and My Own Private Idaho.

He was precise overmuch surviving the accelerated Hollywood life, though it wasn't each charmed.

In 1993, River Phoenix died of an accidental cause overdose—another achy happening Reeves didn't privation to speech about, but helium spoke fondly of his friend and My Own Private Idaho co-star.

"I enjoyed his company. Very much," Reeves told Rolling Stone successful 2000. "And enjoyed his caput and his tone and his soul. We brought bully retired successful each other. He was a existent archetypal thinker. He was not the presumption quo. In anything."

As for Phoenix's death, "It's thing helium thinks astir each the time, thing helium ne'er truly talks about," a person of Reeves' told People. "Friends cognize not to spell determination with him."

(Reeves later told The Guardian that it wasn't getting older that made him deliberation much astir the radical he'd mislaid implicit the people of his life. "It's ever with you, but similar an ebb and flow," helium said. Asked if helium thought astir anyone successful particular, helium replied, "Lots of people.")

In 1994 his estranged father, Samuel, was sentenced to 10 years successful situation for cause possession successful Hawaii, but was released successful two. "Jesus, man. No, the communicative with maine and my dad's beauteous heavy. It's afloat of symptom and woe and fucking nonaccomplishment and each that s--t," helium told RS astir that time. In 1995, helium told Vanity Fair, erstwhile asked why helium didn't privation to cognize much astir his dad's case, "Why would I privation to find retired what I didn't know?" He called the concern "pretty incredible," and that was that.

Reeves has a monolithic scar connected his abdomen from erstwhile helium suffered a ruptured spleen successful a motorcycle clang portion riding successful L.A.'s Topanga Canyon successful 1988. He went into a hairpin crook going astir 50 miles per hour.

"I telephone that a demon ride," helium reflected to Rolling Stone. "That's erstwhile things are going badly. But there's different times erstwhile you spell fast, oregon excessively fast, retired of exhilaration...I retrieve saying successful my head, 'I'm going to die.'"

"I retrieve calling retired for help," helium continued. "And idiosyncratic answering retired of the darkness, and past the flashing lights of an ambulance coming down. This was aft a motortruck ran implicit my helmet. I took it disconnected due to the fact that I couldn't breathe, and a motortruck came down. I got retired of the way, and it ran implicit my helmet."

Also portion his prima was connected the rise, his sister Kim battled crab for years starting successful the precocious '80s. "He helped maine through," she told Vanity Fair astir her brother. "When the symptom got bad, helium utilized to clasp my manus and support the atrocious antheral from making maine dance. He was determination each the time, adjacent erstwhile helium was away."

Actor and Dogstar bandmate Roger Mailhouse told Rolling Stone about Reeves successful 2000, "He's a truly giving person. He'd springiness you his past shoe. Really smart, too. He's incredibly booksmart. He's a truly absorbing idiosyncratic who doesn't speech a batch of s--t."

Asked however his person had changed implicit the past decade, i.e. the '90s, Mailhouse said, "I don't interest astir him arsenic much. I utilized to interest astir him. Because I deliberation of him arsenic 1 of my champion friends successful the world, was helium going to clang his motorcycle, oregon this oregon that. We did immoderate chaotic things. I conjecture it's conscionable increasing up. I don't know—maybe it had thing to bash with River Phoenix, maybe. Losing idiosyncratic adjacent to him. But present I'm conscionable arrogant of him. He's getting to bash it the close way."

For years you'd beryllium overmuch much apt to see Kim oregon Patricia connected Reeves' arm at a premiere oregon different large event—such arsenic erstwhile he got a prima connected the Hollywood Walk of Fame successful 2005—than immoderate girlfriend.

As tends to beryllium the case, helium was linked to a bevy of his co-stars, including Sandra Bullock and Charlize Theron, but if astatine immoderate clip helium was successful a narration (other than his existent 1 with Grant) it wasn't with a fellow Hollywood celebrity.

On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2013 he was wearing what galore would instrumentality for a wedding set connected his near ringing finger, but no revelations ever sprang from that accessory choice.

When Parade asked in 2019 if helium remained a bachelor, Reeves replied (squirming a bit, according to the magazine), "Well, I'm not married."

It's each wide now, of course.

A theme moving done galore interviews he's fixed implicit the years was the disposable discomfort helium started to evince erstwhile the speech veered toward the too-personal. And immoderate topics were conscionable off-limits altogether.

Reeves started dating actress Jennifer Syme after gathering her astatine a enactment successful 1998 and they were expecting a babe together—but the child, a miss they named Ava, was stillborn astatine 8 months. They laid her to remainder successful January 2000, according to People, and broke up weeks later.

Reeves has ne'er spoken publically astir his narration with Syme, which surely fits close into however helium was before, fto unsocial since. But helium grieved. And helium yet had plenty to accidental astir that.

"I think, aft loss, beingness requires an enactment of reclaiming," helium told Parade successful 2006. "You person to cull being overwhelmed. Life has to spell on."

The histrion continued, "Grief changes shape, but it ne'er ends. People person a misconception that you tin woody with it and say, 'It's gone, and I'm better.' They're wrong. When the radical you emotion are gone, you're alone. I miss being a portion of their lives and them being portion of mine. I wonderment what the contiguous would beryllium similar if they were here—what we mightiness person done together. I miss each the large things that volition ne'er be."

So helium knew precisely what helium was talking astir erstwhile helium told Colbert, "I cognize that the ones that emotion america volition miss us."

He said at the clip that helium would similar to person a family, and reiterated the sentiment a mates years later, but Reeves told Esquire successful 2017 with regards to "settling down": "I'm too… it's excessively late. It's over." Asked to clarify, helium added, "I'm 52. I'm not going to person immoderate kids."

Famous past words from a litany of 50-something men, and helium was reminded of that. Reeves conscionable said, "That's a full other… But no. I'm gladsome to inactive beryllium here."

"I'm each cliché," helium continued. "F--king mortality. Aging. I'm conscionable starting to get amended astatine it. Just the magnitude of worldly you person to bash earlier you're dead. I'm each of the clichés, and it's embarrassing. It's each of them. It's just, 'Oh my God. OK. Where did the clip go? How travel things are changing? How overmuch clip bash I person left? What didn't I do?' I'm trying to deliberation of the enactment from the sonnet… 'And heavy from woe to woe archer o'er / The bittersweet relationship of fore-bemoaned moan / Which I caller wage arsenic if not paid before.'"