Keanu Reeves
Canadian actor who trained fight scenes only for specific roles: for The Matrix (1999) with Yuen Woo-ping, for the John Wick series with Chad Stahelski.
Quick Facts
United StatesBiography
Keanu Reeves was born on 2 September 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon. He is a Canadian citizen and after his parents' divorce in 1966 grew up in Toronto. He began his acting career in 1984 in the Canadian series Hangin' In, made his film debut in 1986 in Youngblood, and rose to fame in 1989 with the film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.
He never trained in martial arts other than in preparation for specific roles. For the film The Matrix (1999), which made him a star, he went through several months of intensive training with the fight choreographer Yuen Woo-ping. He worked with him again on Man of Tai Chi (2013), his directorial debut about a young man drawn into an underground fighting club. The same year he played Kai in 47 Ronin.
In 2014 he made a comeback with the film John Wick. He prepared for it for four months, several hours a day in the gym, with a diet and stretching; the preparation included judo, Japanese jujutsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and arnis. The combat training took place at the facility of the company 87Eleven, Taran Butler taught him shooting, and the result was a fighting style that combines grappling techniques with shooting. On the action scenes of the whole series he collaborated with director Chad Stahelski.
He is cited as the clearest example of the fact that credibility on screen for viewers and the actual practice of a martial art are two different things. He has been a member of the rock band Dogstar since 1991.
Filmography
A screen role does not mean the person actually practises the art — that is listed above.