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John Wick, 'John Wick'
Well-dressed and stylish, John Wick is the ultimate cool assassin. Driven by love to seek vengeance against those who shattered his happy existence, Keanu elevates a B-movie revenge plot to lofty heights, showing audiences that even at age 50, he can make complex choreographed fight scenes look easy.
We expect big things for Wick in the sequel.
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Neo, 'The Matrix' Trilogy
"The Matrix" redefined the modern sci-fi genre and with it, the perception of Keanu Reeves. Boasting cutting-edge technology, Reeves became the ultimate symbol of computer cool as the emotionally-detached loner-turned-hero, Neo.
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Ted 'Theodore' Logan, 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' And 'Bogus Journey'
Whoa. "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" and its "Bogus Journey" sequel defined audiences' perception of Keanu Reeves until the mid-1990s. His goofy-but-loveable, dim-witted slacker in the silly time-travelling comedy is highly entertaining. It's no wonder viewers have been clamouring for the long-gestating third film, which Reeves is like totally on board for because it means a Wyld Stallyns reunion.
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Dr. Julian Mercer, 'Something's Gotta Give'
Keanu's filmography isn't just made up of action heroes and surfer dudes. One rare occasion, he finds himself in a romcom. In "Something's Gotta Give", Reeves is the sweet Dr. Mercer, a young man who woos Diane Keaton (who earned an Oscar nom for her performance), a woman 20-years his senior. It's not a big or flashy role, but Reeves is utterly charming in the coming-of-middle-age romance.
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Matt, 'River's Edge'
In his 1986 breakthrough role, Reeves is a reluctant slacker teen hero opposite an insanely over-the-top performance by Crispin Glover. It’s a grim movie about moral apathy and teenage alienation that shows Reeves can excel in a serious drama, early in his career.
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Johnny Utah, 'Point Break'
Of course Reeves' Johnny Utah is the FBI agent you'd want to infiltrate a band of bank robbing surfers. Keanu manages to fill his character with a surprising amount of emotional depth for a 1990s action flick, elevating the film well beyond its simple plot and showing the world that he can be an action hero.
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Alex Wyler, 'The Lake House'
With a filmography that includes less than five romantic comedies, it's not a genre Reeves often finds himself cast in. But when he does, he's as good as can be.
In the time-shifting romance "The Lake House", he manages to make even the most far-fetched fantasy relationship seem plausible, thanks to a strong performance opposite Oscar-winners Sandra Bullock and Christopher Plummer.
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Scott Favor, 'My Own Private Idaho'
In 1991, Reeves showed he could play more than just a surfer slacker with Gus Van Sant's indie, gritty look at two gay hustlers on the streets of Portland, coming to terms with their sexuality in the loose Shakespearean adaptation of Henry IV and Henry V. A subtle performance, the chemistry between Reeves and co-star River Phoenix is electric and gave the young Reeves one of his meatier roles in his early career.
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Kevin Lomax, 'The Devil's Advocate'
Reeves goes toe-to-toe with Al Pacino as the literal devil in the 1997 thriller "The Devil's Advocate". It's not always easy to play opposite an actor who has a tendency to go over-the-top, but Reeves manages to play off Pacino by adding some emotional depth as an ace attorney who has no qualms defending terrible people.
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Jack Traven, 'Speed'
Keanu cemented his status as an action hero in the highly suspenseful "Speed". As the straight-laced young police officer Jack Traven, Keanu led the action-thriller to become a bonafide box office hit, going toe-to-toe with both a bomb on a bus and the madman (Dennis Hopper) behind it.
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Keystone Press
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Columbia Pictures
MGM
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Alliance Atlantis
Warner Bros.
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