Keanu Reeves Timeline

Box-office star Keanu Reeves celebrates his 54th birthday this Sunday. Born in Lebanon, Beirut, and bearing a Hawaiian first name that means “cool breeze over the mountains”, the actor is most known for a series of starring roles in blockbuster productions such as the action thrillers Point Break and Speed, science fiction series The Matrix and supernatural thriller Constantine. Apart from his cinema appearances, Mr. Reeves has engaged in other forms of artistic expression such as theater performances, music, film directing and writing.

To wish the multi-talented artist a happy birthday, we have created the Keanu Reeves Timeline, which highlights some of the most notable events in his life and most popular movies in which he was cast.

With his first acting performance in a theater production of Damn Yankees when he was nine, Keanu Reeves made his screen debut in an episode of the TV sitcom Hangin’ In. Until his first studio movie role in 1986, Reeves appeared in commercials, short films and stage productions. Three years later, his leading role in science fiction comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure would bring him unexpected success and something of a cult following. It was the on-screen character Ted Logan whom Reeves played that made audiences often assign a doofy personality to the actor’s real-life persona.

After his casting in a series of comedies and indie dramas, his career took a turn and reached new heights with his starring role in action film Speed. Despite the box-office success and fame this acting choice brought him, Reeves continued to appear in experimental productions, some of which weren’t well-received by critics. He became the subject of headlines when he refused a substantial paycheck for his role in Speed 2 in favor of touring with his grunge band and playing Hamlet in Manitoba Theatre Centre’s production of Shakespeare’s play.

Among other surprising choices he made was him taking significant paycuts for different movies he took part in to guarantee the casting of famous actors. Such is the case of The Devil’s Advocate and The Replacements, for which Reeves accepted a lower paycheck so that Al Pacino and Gene Hackman, respectively, would be cast.

The Keanu Reeves chronology was created with Office Timeline, a lightweight add-in for PowerPoint that enables users to create stylish timelines, Gantt charts and other similar visuals with ease. The image is free to copy and share, and can be further edited using the Plus version of the tool.

Download the Keanu Reeves Timeline for PowerPoint here.