Keanu Reeves, known for films like Matrix and John Wick, is not only a talented actor but also a master of martial arts. Keanu Reeves has an impressive list of martial arts films that he has starred in including The Matrix, Street Fighter, 47 Ronin, and Man of Tai Chi.
Many people are wondering if Keanu is actually trained in martial arts or if he just knows how to act the part. Keanu Reeves has always been one of Hollywood’s most admired actors, but there are some who believe that he may have taken his art to the next level.
Though he is best known for his acting skills, many martial arts fans are convinced that Reeves is also a skilled martial artist. Some say that this could very well be the case because Reeves was trained in various martial arts as a child and teenager.
Keanu Reeves Martial Arts Training
Keanu Reeves prepares for his upcoming role in the movie, “Man of Tai Chi” by practicing martial arts with famed trainer Master Yuen Woo Ping. Reeves spends hours each day learning how to use weapons and the basics of Kung-Fu. Reeves is not new to martial arts, he started when he was three years old.
The actor has also practiced various martial arts including Jiu-Jitsu, Jeet Kune Do, Thai boxing, Muay Thai, Boxing, and Karate. However, he has been training in Kempo Karate and Kung Fu for over twenty years. In a recent interview with Esquire, he claimed that martial arts “changed who I am as a human being.”
Reeves states that the discipline and focus of martial arts were what he needed to change his life for the better. He says, “When I’m doing martial arts my ego goes away”.
In addition to starring in movies, Keanu has been studying martial arts since the age of 5. In his early 20s, he began to study extreme martial arts styles such as Wing Chun and Jeet Kune Do. He’s even earned his Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a grappling style which he also teaches!
Keanu Reeves Martial Arts Belts
Some moviegoers may not know that Keanu Reeves has six black belts in various martial arts. He started martial arts training at the age of 12 to escape bullying, and he eventually earned his first black belt by the age of 14. Reeves reached his last black belt at 16 after winning a tournament with his style of karate called Goju-Ryu.
In recent years, he has been the main focus of the popular YouTube series “10 Types of People You Meet On The Street.” Along with his acting career, Reeves has also notably practiced Keiraku-Zen-Butsu iaijutsu and Shinkage-Ryu kenjutsu for nearly 30 years.
Decoding Keanu Reeves’ Movie Characters
In a career spanning from 1985 to 2018, Keanu Reeves has starred in 31 movies. Many of these movies have been centered around the characterization of a hero, such as “John Wick” and “Johnny Mnemonic”, but many of his most famous roles have been characters who are anti-heroes.
One infamous example of this is in the movie “The Matrix”, in which Reeves portrays a computer hacker by the name of Neo. His diverse range of characters has catapulted him to international fame, with each role seeming more different than the last. From John Wick to Ted Logan, he’s played them all.
Those who know Reeves best will be able to decode his movie characters based on his life experiences. As a worldly man, he has seen it all and done it all so his performances are layered with nuance that few other actors can match.
Though he has typically played more action-oriented roles, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as his portrayal of Shannon in My Own Private Idaho. Reeves’s characters are decoded below.
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His Stunts for The Matrix Series
In the film industry, it is often difficult for stunt doubles to perform key stunts or high-intensity moves. In The Matrix Series, Keanu Reeves performed many of his own stunts which translated into a more realistic image on the screen. Now almost twenty years after The Matrix’s release in 1999, Reeves is still performing his own stunts in movies such as John Wick 3 and Toy Story 4.
Reeves has been a versatile actor for decades with a career that spans many different genres with great success. The Matrix, Speed, and Point Break. In recent years he has also been stunt double for the films John Wick: Chapter 2, 47 Meters Down, and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
It was well-known that he had a huge following of fans from the Matrix series, so there is no wonder why people are so excited to see him in movies again.
