Keanu Charles Reeves (pronEngke????nu? kay-AH-noo, often mispronounced as kee-AH-noo; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor, best known for his portrayals of a spaced-out metalhead in Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure (which went on to become a cult classic) and in two action movie projects that were both financial and critical successes: the "ticking time bomb" thriller Speed (Speed (1994 film)) and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix. He has worked under major directors, such as Stephen Frears (in the 1988 period drama Dangerous Liaisons); Gus Van Sant (in the gritty 1991 independent film My Own Private Idaho (also written by Van Sant)); and Bernardo Bertolucci (in the 1993 film Little Buddha). His role as a rookie FBI agent in the 1991 surf drama Point Break (opposite Patrick Swayze) was praised by The New York Times critic Janet Maslin, who stated that Reeves "...displays considerable discipline and range."

In addition to his film roles, Reeves has also performed in theatre. His performance in the title role (Prince Hamlet) in a Manitoba Theatre Centre production of Hamlet was praised by Roger Lewis, the Sunday Times (The Sunday Times), who called Reeves "...one of the top three Hamlets I have seen, for a simple reason: he *is* Hamlet." On January 31, 2005, Reeves received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In an ET online (Entertainment Tonight) survey in 2006, he was included in the "Top Ten of Americas Favorite Stars".citation neededdate=March 2010