Besides his illustrious film career, actor Keanu Reeves is famous for his simple lifestyle and kind heart, always generous with colleagues, friends, and people in difficult circumstances.

Rolex watches given to stuntmen

The Canadian actor often expresses his gratitude to his film crew. Before John Wick 4 is released in 2023, Keanu Reeves thanked the stunt team on the action film by gifting them Rolex Submariner watches.

Keanu in ‘John Wick 4’.

The actor gave branded watches to 4 stuntmen.

The four luxury watches, which are said to cost around $9,150 each, are even more valuable because Keanu has had a thank you message engraved on them. A stunt double once revealed that the watch Keanu gave him had the words “Thank you, Keanu JW4 2021” engraved on the back.

The 59-year-old actor also showed generosity towards the stunt team on The Matrix Reloaded . To show his gratitude for their dedication, Keanu is said to have gifted each member of the 12-man team a Harley Davidson motorcycle.

Take a pay cut to save money for the film

In 1996, Keanu Reeves agreed to take a pay cut of several million dollars so that the producers of The Devil’s Advocate could afford to invite The Godfather star Al Pacino to join the project. At the time, Keanu really wanted to act with the Oscar-winning actor, but the production budget was not enough, so he shared part of his salary with Pacino.

Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino in ‘The Devil’s Advocate’.

Three years later, the actor did the same thing when Warner Bros. said it didn’t have enough money to pay Gene Hackman for The Replacements .

Keanu even reduced his salary in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions to have more money for the costume design team and special effects.

Invite friends and colleagues to the Matrix 4 premiere

In 2021, Keanu Reeves spent a large sum of money to invite his family, friends, and former film crew members to the premiere of Matrix Resurrections in San Francisco. Sources said the actor sponsored everything, from private jet rental to hotel rooms, movie tickets, and gifts.

Keanu Reeves and his colleagues at the premiere of ‘Matrix Resurrections’. Photo: Broadimage

Chad Stahelski, who directed Reeves in the John Wick series , confirmed the story. “He brought our team here,” he said on the red carpet at the Castro. “He’s incredibly generous. There’s a lot of people in the audience tonight who helped him, from his martial arts instructors to his jiu-jitsu instructors, his hairdressers, his makeup artists, his stunt doubles. Keanu made sure his friends and family were here. He’s been amazing.”

When asked about this by The Hollywood Reporter , Keanu humbly said: “Yes, it’s great to be able to share our experiences and our lives with each other.”

Bring joy to strangers

Despite having experienced many tragedies in his personal life (abandoned by his father when he was young, his child died at birth, his ex-girlfriend died in a car accident), Keanu Reeves is not bored with life. He is always ready to bring joy to others whenever he has the chance.

In August 2022, Keanu surprised a couple at their wedding in Northamptonshire, England. The bride, Nikki, a dog groom, and the groom, James Roadnight, a salesman, were thrilled to see the movie star. The two only met Keanu Reeves by chance on their big day when they were staying at the same 4-star hotel in Northamptonshire, where the actor was filming a documentary.

Nikki said: “Keanu was so nice and friendly. He congratulated us on our wedding and took pictures with us. Afterwards, he spent time talking to some of the wedding guests and took more pictures!”

Keanu Reeves takes a photo with Nikki and James Roadnight.

In 2018, the Matrix star also touched two other couples when he posed for photos with them at their weddings. In August 2018, Keanu accidentally met Moray and Maura on the sidewalk in New York after their wedding. The photo of the actor smiling with the bride and groom was later posted on Twitter by the groom’s costume designer with the caption: “Best wedding photo ever!”.

The actor with the couple Moray and Maura.

A month later, Keanu was also the special guest at another stranger’s wedding at the three-star Dream Inn in Santa Cruz, California. The groom’s mother, a Keanu fan, told ABC : “His presence was really amazing. I couldn’t believe it was Keanu Reeves. He was so sweet and kind!”

Secretly donate money to charities

Despite his successful career and a fortune of $380 million, Keanu has never put money first. “Money is the last thing on my mind. I can live on what I’ve earned for the next few centuries,” he told the Chicago Tribune . Instead of living a lavish life, the actor has donated millions of dollars to help cancer patients.

Keanu Reeves secretly donates money to charities. Photo: Forbes

However, unlike many other stars who associate their names with charitable activities, Keanu does this quietly. The actor explained to Ladies Home Journal in 2009: “I have a private foundation that has been operating for 5 or 6 years. The foundation helps support some children’s hospitals and cancer research. I don’t like to attach my name to it.”

Keanu hasn’t always kept his philanthropy a secret, though. In 2020, he auctioned off a 15-minute Zoom call to raise money for a children’s cancer charity.

Keanu’s sister, Kim Reeves, suffered from leukemia and witnessing her battle in the 1990s gave the actor a deep empathy for cancer patients and their families.

Help the homeless

Keanu Reeves is also known for his generosity towards the homeless. In 1997, as a rising star from the success of Speed ​​and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure , Keanu was seen walking up to a dirty homeless man on the street. He sat down, shared his food and drink, and chatted with him.

Paparazzi also caught Keanu giving food to homeless people many other times with humility.

Keanu Reeves helps homeless people.

The actor once experimented with living as a homeless person to prepare for a role (which was never made). He spent four days living on the streets, eating, sleeping, and breathing with homeless people, understanding their miserable lives. Some time later, Keanu returned to visit his new friends and offered to buy them a fancy dinner. “I expected them to ask for a steak or lobster. But all they wanted was McDonalds!”, Keanu said.