He’s a marvelous actor, lighting up the screen in roles such as Neo in The Matrix.

I often wonder about Hollywood stars, famous athletes and the like.  I love how they perform on the world stage … and I hope they’re nice people.  Do they connect deeply with their family and friends away from the silver screen or the playing field?

Keane Reeves shines.  A recent article on Facebook told me so much:

In 1997 some paparazzi found him walking one morning in the company of a homeless man in Los Angeles, listening to him and sharing his life for a few hours.

When he was filming the movie The Lake House, he overheard the conversation of two costume assistants. One cried because he would lose his house if he did not pay $20,000 … and on the same day Keanu deposited the necessary amount in the man’s bank account.

For many successful films, he has even given up 90% of his salary to allow the production to hire other stars.

In 2010, on his birthday, Keanu walked into a bakery and bought a brioche with a single candle, ate it in front of the bakery, and offered coffee to people who stopped to talk to him.

We all have things that go wrong in our lives, sometimes horribly wrong.  Failures, disasters, being scorned, the death of loved ones …

How many moviegoers know about the words that follow?

Keanu was abandoned by his father at three-years-old and grew up with three different stepfathers.  He is dyslexic.  His dream of becoming a hockey player was shattered by a serious accident.  His daughter died at birth.  His wife died in a car accident.  His best friend, River Phoenix, died of an overdose.  His sister has leukemia.

He carries on

May we carry on too