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15 reasons to love John Wick star Keanu Reeves

Actor Keanu Reeves, star of The Matrix and John Wick films, has his own day, ‘Cheer Up Keanu Day’, celebrated on June 15.

In 2010, a photo of actor Keanu Reeves eating a sandwich alone on a park bench in New York sparked a slew of “Sad Keanu” memes.

At the time, the actor had experienced a string of box-office flops, leaving fans worried. That concern snowballed into an internet sensation with, according to Ranker.com, the Reddit thread attracting 281,000 views – instantly making it the front page of the site.

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Not long after that, a Facebook page was created to inaugurate June 15 as the official “Cheer Up Keanu Day”.

In recent years, the 54-year-old star of The Matrix films seems to have bounced back with the success of the John Wick action films – including the recently released third instalment of the franchise, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, which has seen him happily making the rounds of the talk show circuit, including The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

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Since flattery is free and there are no limits to our appreciation of the prolific actor, we want to cheer him up anyway.

Here are our favourite roles that Reeves has portrayed over his 30-year career.

Le chevalier Raphael Danceny – Dangerous Liaisons

The male counterpart to the innocent Cécile (Uma Thurman), Danceny was certainly adept at playing the piano.

Ted Logan – Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

This role was both blessing and a curse for Reeves’ career. He is most remembered for his portrayal of a lovable idiot, but has not been able to shake off the idea that he shares the same IQ as his character since then.

Jeff (uncredited) – Rush Rush music video

Ranked as one of the most successful songs in the 1990s in the United States, those who did not know who Reeves was at the time would simply ask: “Who’s that hot guy in Paula Abdul’s music video?”

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Johnny Utah – Point Break

Keanu Reeves (left) and Patrick Swayze in Point Break.

Reeves officially made the switch from ingénu roles to action star in his portrayal of an undercover FBI agent who also surfs in tight wetsuits.

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Jonathan Harker – Bram Stoker’s Dracula

One of the best performances of Reeves’ career was opposite Gary Oldman as Count Dracula.

Jack Traven – Speed

Keanu Reeves (left) with Sandra Bullock star in the 2004 action film, Speed.

This is the film that put the him on the map with audiences worldwide. Nobody will ever forget his portrayal of badass SWAT officer, Jack Traven, opposite Sandra Bullock.

Paul Sutton – A Walk in the Clouds

Who could resist Reeves in uniform?

Kevin Lomax – Devil’s Advocate

Sparks flew when Reeves teamed up with Charlize Theron, and man, he cleans up well in that suit.

Neo – The Matrix

Keanu Reeves in the 1999 science-fiction film, The Matrix.

Not only was he “The One” in this cult classic, but he also became “The One” in everyone’s hearts after his role as the cool-as-a-cucumber sci-fi action hero.

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Nelson Moss – Sweet November

Pairing up with Theron again, his character in this film set a new bar for apologies and made listening to Enya cool again.

John Constantine – Constantine

Reeves is so cool, he was in a comic book film before it was a thing.

Alex Wyler – The Lake House

Reeves reunited with Bullock in this time-bending romantic drama, which gave us a new appreciation of architecture and letter writing.

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Tom Ludlow – Street Kings

Reeves reminded us that he can handle a gun as an LAPD vice detective.

John Wick – John Wick

After all the Sad Keanu memes, he made a huge comeback with this sleeper hit. Man, they shouldn’t have killed his dog.

Himself – Always Be My Maybe

By far one of the most memorable scenes in the Netflix romcom, written by and starring Ali Wong, Keanu being himself was all we needed.

In case you were wondering, we did not include sequels or later instalments to avoid being redundant, but here’s a clip of the man himself training for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum to make up for it.

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June 15 is ‘Cheer Up Keanu Day’, which is the perfect excuse to show our appreciation for the actor as we recall some of his most unforgettable film roles