Five times Keanu Reeves proved he was the nicest guy in Hollywood

Keanu Reeves has transcended his role as an actor. A long time ago, the performer was just another male lead in the sea of 1990s heartthrobs. Taking on roles in productions such as Bill and Ted, My Own Private Idaho, Point break, The Matrix and, more recently, John Wick, Reeves operated quietly and flawlessly as the leading man in all of the aforementioned pictures. Perfecting a detached sense of etherealness, he managed to become one of Hollywood’s highest earners. However, in recent years, Reeves has emerged as so much more.

With kindness to others and a willingness to understand himself as somewhat insignificant within the grander scheme of the universe, Reeves has now long been regarded as the “internet’s boyfriend”. With a penchant for striking up a rapport like no other, the actor is as casual as his onscreen character Ted and, duly, is one of Hollywood’s most relaxed figures.

Such is his deity-like calm, he now exists in the same orbit as characters such as Christopher Walken, the lovable goof Bill Murray and the late, great Harry Dean Stanton, owning an effortless personality that is far more endearing than the botox and kale-charged regulars of the movie industry. While most leading men would portray a worldly and comforting image, Reeves has always quietly backed it up.

This self-reserved side to his personality is the main reason that Reeves is so widely adored. While others hog the limelight and search for stardom, Reeves seems intent on neglecting as much of the trappings of fame as is humanly possible for a box-office crashing actor. While much of his personal life is kept off the record, below we have a list of moments when Reeves broke out of his shell and proved himself to be one of the nicest guys in Hollywood.

If you’re unsure that Reeves deserves the accolade, then we have enough proof below to have you screaming it from the rooftop.

Five times Keanu Reeves proved he was the nicest guy in Hollywood:

Keanu Reeves always looks after the workers on set

With a wealth of experience on set, it could be easy for Reeves to become blasé about his knowledge. When hitting the heights that Reeves has done in his career so far, it would be comfortable to move from a chauffeur-driven car to one’s trailer on to set, only to practice the run in reverse when leaving for the evening. However, Reeves not only appreciates the chance he’s been given but that there are countless other workers on set, all helping to realise the same project.

One Redditor shared first-hand experience of Reeves’ kindness in this regard: “Back in the late ’90s and fresh out of college, I got my first job as an assistant prop designer on the set of Chain Reaction (Keanu was a supporting actor with Morgan Freeman). EVERY DAY for the last few weeks of filming, Keanu treated the stage hands and “grunt workers” (including myself) by taking us out for free breakfast and lunch. He was genuinely a very nice guy to work with. Since then, I’ve worked on about 30 different sets and have never met an actor as generous and friendly as him.”

Keanu Reeves once drove 50 miles the wrong way to help a stranger

It’s one thing to make sure the place in which you work is a nice place to be and that the workers are looked after, but it’s another thing to cut into your free time to help out a stranger. In truth, not many of us would drive 50 miles out of our way to help get a stranger home, but Keanu Reeves would and did.

“A friend of mine told me that she was once stranded on the side of a highway outside L.A. when her jalopy broke down,” explained one Redditor. “She had no cell phone (that was before most people had cell phones) and no way to call for help. Then a nice black Porsche pulls over, and as you can guess, it was Keanu. He tried to help her jump-start the car, and when it didn’t work, he called AAA for her. When they towed her car, he offered to drive her home, which she accepted. He drove about 50 miles out of his destination just to drive her home. She told me she hoped he would hit on her, but he didn’t, he was just a gentleman, dropped her at her house, gave her his phone number and told her to call him if she needed further help.”

Keanu Reeves bought Harley-Davidson bikes for his stunt team

When you’re in such a high-action, high-velocity, and high-earning film as The Matrix series was for Keanu Reeves, there are certain dues to be paid. Most actors will thank their colleagues in awards speeches, while Keanu Reeves went one step further. So enamoured with his stunt team on The Matrix: Reloaded, he bought the whole group a Harley-Davidson motorcycle each.

With such a magnificent fight scene essential to the film’s success, Reeves noted: “We were all in this thing, and we were training together beforehand; I just wanted… to give a bigger thank-you to all these guys who helped me make this, I think, one of the great movie fights in the history of cinema.”

Keanu Reeves waits his turn like everybody else

When reaching a particular level of fame, it must be easy to expect a certain level of treatment from establishments. Especially in Hollywood, where the weight of your name holds more gravitas than usual, an actor like Reeves could get whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. However, Reeves doesn’t use his name to achieve his goals, and this came to light when he waited in the rain to get into his own party.

Reeves arrived at the 2014 wrap party for his movie Exposed only to find that the bouncer didn’t recognise him. Rather than cause a fuss and likely jeopardise the security worker’s position, Reeves went to the back of the line and patiently waited for his turn. “Keanu was really patiently waiting,” chauffeur Ronny Sunshine told Page Six. “I don’t think he said anything to the bouncer, like, ‘I’m Keanu’. No one recognised him. Keanu looks very ordinary. It was raining, but he just waited for his two friends to come. He didn’t act like he had money. I just thought he was a rock’ n’ roller.”

Keanu Reeves might befriend you at a gas station

Arriving in Los Angeles, most actors start out as humble would-be stars, going to auditions, being rejected and just generally trying to live. For a lucky few, things quickly change, and their lives are never the same again. However, Reeves always tried to keep a sense of grounding.

In 2013, the actor revealed that he joined a street hockey team after getting friendly with a group of guys at a gas station. Over the next decade, Reeves would regularly play with the group as they went about their day jobs, and he became one of the most famous men on the planet: “For a long time in Los Angeles when I first moved there, when I was 20 years old, it was such a new world, and so I saw some guys at a gas station once who had hockey equipment in their car, and I asked them what they were doing, and they said they were playing street hockey, so I asked them if I could play,” he explained.

Reeves added: “So I became involved in a street hockey game that took place every weekend for over 10 years, every weekend, red versus black. We would take holidays off and sometimes summers, but the game was going on for over 10 years. That was cool to be a part of. It was a cool thing to have happen. Made some friends.”