You’ve probably seen Keanu in The Matrix, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, or John Wick, but did you have any idea what a cool guy he was, even off-screen? He’s earned a reputation for being one of the nicest people in Hollywood, and been the subject of a few popular memes. But there’s a lot more to Mr. Reeves than you probably would’ve thought. Here’s just a sampling of what makes him so great (besides being gorgeous):
1. He made $114 million from The Matrix sequels, and gave $80 million of it back to the special effects crew.
2. He also bought a Harley-Davidson for every stunt crew member in The Matrix.
3. He played bass guitar in a grunge band called Dogstar.
4. He was the primary caregiver for his sister when she was diagnosed with Leukemia, and put $5 million towards her treatment.
5. He’s donated millions of dollars to cancer research.
6. He set up a cancer charity of his own, but decided he didn’t want his name on it.
7. He gave up the chance to make “Speed 2” in favor of starring in Hamlet.
8. He’s really into riding motorcycles.
9. He has his own motorcycle company called Arch Motorcycle Company.
10. He does almost all of his own stunts.
11. He once gave a $20,000 Christmas bonus to a man who worked on sets for The Matrix, after hearing he was having family trouble.
12. He’s said he doesn’t care about money, and that he already has “enough to live on for the next few centuries.”
13. He took a massive pay cut just so he could work alongside Al Pacino in The Devil’s Advocate.
14. He did the same thing when he wanted to work with Gene Hackman on The Replacements, for which he took a 90% pay cut.
15. He loves ballroom dancing.
16. He thinks the memes about him are pretty funny.
17. He was babysat by Alice Cooper as a child.
18.He’s gone to sit down and chat with homeless people, not in search of any reward of for any charity, just for the sake of being nice.
19. He was an ice hockey star in high school, before he dropped out to pursue acting.
20. He has dyslexia, but is still an avid reader.
Keep doing you, Keanu!