Keanu Reeves donated the majority of his Matrix salary, it has been revealed. Photo / Getty Images
Keanu Reeves donated the majority of his Matrix salary, it has been revealed. Photo / Getty Images
Keanu Reeves has yet again warmed his way into the cockles of our hearts.
The 57-year-old Canadian actor has developed a reputation as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, one which has grown slowly over the years as revelations emerge about his countless acts of kindness that he doesn't make public.
The latest one being that he reportedly donated 70 per cent of his whopping salary from The Matrix to cancer research.
Reeves made $14 million for the 1999 sci-fi film, before pocketing a further $49 million when it became a box office sensation.
According to Lad Bible, Reeves gave roughly $44 million of those earnings to leukaemia research, a cause close to his heart after his beloved sister Kim was diagnosed with blood cancer in 1991.
Kim, now 55, battled the disease for 10 years before entering remission, with Reeves putting his career on hold – including back-to-back Matrix sequels – to take care of her.
He later quietly started his own cancer fund, but didn't make it known for several years.
Keanu Reeves donated the majority of his Matrix salary, it has been revealed. Photo / Getty Images
"I have a private foundation that's been running for five or six years, and it helps aid a couple of children's hospitals and cancer research," Reeves told Ladies Home Journal in 2009. "I don't like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does."
He gave the entire stunt team on The Matrix Harley-Davidsons so they could all enjoy riding as much as he did.
Elsewhere, Reddit user bo2dd2 said Reeves bought him and several other workers breakfast and lunch every day during filming of Chain Reaction in 1996.
"Every day 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," the post read.
"Since then, I've worked on about 30 different sets and have never met an actor as generous and friendly as him. Most actors I've seen and worked with are total douches who always think they are better than us. Keanu on the other hand, at the very least, was socially approachable and definitely kind-hearted.
"That was one example, but [on the same set], I remember him going out of his way to give my friend a ride to the repair shop to pick up his car …"
One of the most famous stories about Reeves emerged in 1997 when he was photographed sitting on the side of the road with a homeless man.
The word was Reeves approached him, sat with him, shared drinks and snacks and listened to his life story.
He has also sacrificed millions of dollars from his own salaries to save at-risk jobs on several of his movies, with some reports claiming he has given up as much as $125 million so people could stay employed.
Reeves reportedly waited in pouring rain in a nightclub line at his own wrap party for 2016's Daughter of God because he didn't want to drop his name at the door.
"I didn't know who he was, he kept waiting, and he didn't say anything to me! He's a very relaxed person," the unidentified owner of the club told the Daily Mail at the time.
Back in 2011 he was filmed offering his seat to a fellow passenger on a New York subway in a video that went viral.
