Unlike a lot of celebrities these days, actor Keanu Reeves likes to maintain a low profile. We usually hear about him when he's promoting a new project, then the star, who described himself as "a pretty private person," stays out of the spotlight.
Despite his closely-guarded privacy, there are a number of stories about Reeves that have been circulating, and they paint him in a whole new light.
The John Wick star is one of the most kind and generous celebrities, and he doesn't give back to draw attention to himself. He believes in sharing his wealth with those who need it the most.
"Money is the last thing I think about," Reeves said in a 2003 interview. "I could live on what I have already made for the next few centuries."
Reeves is known for going to great lengths to help people, whether it is stopping to help a woman jump-start her car, taking pay cuts so other actors could be hired or ensuring the crew on the set of movies are well taken care of.
For The Matrix sequels, he gave up around $80 million from his $114 million paycheck so the crews could get paid a fair wage. The stories don't end there.
He once gave a set-builder $20,000 so he wouldn't get evicted from his home. He also bought each of his Matrix stunt team members a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as a way of thanking them for their hard work.
"I worked with these stuntmen every day," Reeves told Esquire. "That fight was 17 shooting days. We trained every day for seven hours for three weeks going through all the motions. We learned the term 'super-perfect'. You want to go for super-perfect. So, obviously I was getting paid well. And so, you know, just as a thank you to those guys. Got them some gifts. Yeah."
While these are all wonderful gestures, there's one that trumps them all: He runs a secret foundation to fight cancer.
The actor rarely talks about his involvement with the cause, but it was inspired by a personal experience.
When asked about the foundation, Reeve confirmed that it does exist, but "I don't like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does," he explained to Ladies Home Journal back in 2009.
The humble actor's privately run non-profit foundation has been running for 14 or 15 years, and is dedicated to cancer research and funding a couple of children's hospitals.
Reeves has been an active advocate for the fight against cancer. He worked closely with Stand Up to Cancer and was among the celebrities at the organization's telethon in 2008.
Curing cancer is something that's important to Reeve because his sister, Kim, has battled leukemia for over a decade. During the ordeal, Reeves became Kim's main caretaker, and he has since supported causes dedicated to fighting the disease.
According to The List, Reeves also donated to Spinal Cord Opportunities for Rehabilitation Endowment (SCORE), a charity which supports hockey players who have suffered spinal cord injuries.
"Reeves got into the net at a celebrity fundraiser for SCORE, revisiting a one-time dream of playing pro hockey," added The List.
What a wonderful human being!