The internet’s boyfriend is box office superstar Keanu Reeves and we’re here to celebrate with Keanuchella! With the success of John Wick: Chapter 4 and new projects being announced, what better way to celebrate Reeves than with his own (at home) festival! You can check out our watchlist to see where to watch most of the iconic actor’s filmography as we conduct our very own polls to see which film is the most career defining for Reeves. 

While my obsession with Keanu came late (literally just last month), the internet has been on the right side of history, obsessing over the actor since the late 80s. Over the years, we’ve been given gift after gift with his constant gracious behavior (a man making headlines for just being good?!) to iconic roles (Keanu the kitten, Duke Caboom, John Wick!) to swoon-inducing interviews. Reeves is one of the good ones in the industry, and there’s always a reason to celebrate him!

Part of what makes Reeves such an amazing Hollywood icon is how everyone who works with him has great stories to tell. In an interview with Esquire in 2021 while filming John Wick: Chapter 4 in Paris, Reeves dropped so many stories and quotes that continue to prove he’s the real deal, the nicest guy in the business. In 1994, a year after filming Speed with Sandra Bullock, the actress mentioned in a casual conversation that she had never tried champagne or truffles. A few days later, Reeves shows up at her house with (what else?) champagne, truffles, and flowers. What could make this story better? Academy Award winner Sandra Bullock then proceeded to paint his fingernails black and they hung out all afternoon. 

Another story, from the same interview, comes from another co-star of Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss. In the interview done during the press tour for The Matrix Resurrections, they spoke to Moss and she noted she had asked him to recommend a few good movies she could watch with her kids. “In the Matrix movies, I’ve always felt like I was his partner, and he was my partner, in the execution of these characters,” Moss said. “It was never the feeling of, Oh, he’s the movie star. His work ethic is unlike anyone I’ve ever met, and I’ve seen it up close: He trains harder, works harder, cares more, always asks more and more questions to understand the depth of what we’re doing. And while he was doing all of that for himself, he always had an eye out for me. Like when I asked him for those movies, it seems like a little thing, but he’s so busy, he’s exhausted, and took the time to write this very, very thoughtful list.” (It’s such a great list, by the way. Keanu and I would vibe, for sure.)

In addition to being adored by his cast, Reeves is so respectful of crews. From stories of gifting Rolex watches and motorcycles when wrapping a film to helping the crew carry equipment, there are countless instances of him just being a stand-up guy to the teams he works with on films. One of the best stories about him caring about the crew on a film is that Reeves’s contract for sequels The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions included a significant pay cut for the actor, so that more money would be available for costume design and visual effects teams in both films. After Reeves was cast in the 1997 film The Devil’s Advocate, he found out that Al Pacino wasn’t able to work on the project due to the film’s budget. Reeves was so eager to work with the legendary actor that he took a sizable pay cut.

Not only is Reeves unbelievably kind to his cast and crew on films, but he also goes above and beyond for fans and people he comes into contact with. From giving his seat up on a subway for a woman to stopping to sign autographs while driving, the man has been seen doing it all. Perhaps the best story of Reeves being a stand-up guy has to be in March 2019, a Los Angeles-bound flight that Reeves was on was forced to make an emergency landing, stranding passengers in Bakersfield. After posing for photos with fans, he ended up organizing transportation to LA. Reeves gave passengers fun facts about their whereabouts, played music, and casually hung out. 

What more could you want from an iconic screen legend? Reeves seems like the real deal as a great human being, and what better way to celebrate him than watching all of his filmography? In that same Esquire interview, the writer asked Reeves to give them three films through which you could get to know Keanu. The three films Keanu gave were The Matrix, The Devil’s Advocate, and Point Break. What films do you think are his most career-defining? Let us know and vote in our polls on Twitter all throughout Keanuchella!