Acting throughout four decades, Keanu Reeves has long been a household name, but it seems that in the last few years, his star has been shining brighter. Whether it's his recent roles, such as playing a tongue-in-cheek version of himself in Always Be My Maybe or a vengeance-seeking John Wick in the eponymous film, or the fact that he's one of the few unproblematic celebrities left, he has amassed a legion of fans. The mysterious actor opts to stay out of the public eye, though directors have described him as incredibly hardworking, which no doubt comes across on-screen.

Updated June 9, 2022: If you are a Keanu Reeves fan, you'll be happy to learn this article has been updated with additional films featuring the celebrated star.

The Canadian actor was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to a father of Native Hawaiian and Chinese heritage and a British mother. He grew up all over the world, living in New York City and Sydney, Australia, before his family settled in Toronto. He started acting at the early age of nine and chose to make it his career when he was only 15. Before then, he was seriously considering a career as a professional hockey player, aspiring to play for the Canadian Olympic team. Since starring in a Canadian short in 1985 and a few made-for-TV movies in 1986, Reeves has appeared in over 70 films. Out of the whopping number of roles, these are the best Keanu Reeves movies.

23 Dangerous Liaisons

John Malkovich and Keanu Reeves in Dangerous Liaisons
Warner Bros.

Directed by Stephen Frears, Dangerous Liaisons is a period drama based on an adaptation of the 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses. It boasts a star-studded cast, including Michelle Pfeiffer, Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Uma Thurman, and more. The 1988 film no doubt helped to propel the career of a young Keanu Reeves. The film won Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 61st Academy Awards.

22 Always Be My Maybe

21 Keanu Reeves wearing glasses in Always Be My Maybe

Always Be My Maybe is a Netflix-produced romantic comedy starring stand-up comedian Ali Wong opposite Randall Park as childhood friends who are reunited years later. A recurring theme in the film is how Park's character is less successful than Wong's character, which is never more obvious than when they have dinner with Keanu Reeves, playing an uber-cool, over-the-top, fictionalized version of himself. It serves as the perfect foil to make Park's character feel insecure and inadequate in comparison, as anyone would.

20 Man of Tai Chi

Keanu Reeves and Tiger Chen in Man of Tai Chi
RADiUS-TWC

Keanu Reeves made his highly-anticipated directorial debut with the 2013 multilingual martial arts film Man of Tai Chi, telling the exciting tale of gifted martial artist Tiger Chen Linhu as he attempts to find success in a dangerous and highly profitable underground fight club.

Tiger discovers his quest to earn fast cash is compromised by the mysterious leader of the illegal operation (Reeves), who pushes his prized fighter to become a ruthless killer. Though it failed to make a splash at the box office, both Reeves and the thrilling flick earned widespread acclaim by critics, with the Los Angeles Times calling it "a movie streamlined to evoke the timeless zip of martial arts movies past."

19 River's Edge

Keanu Reeves with the cast in River's Edge
Island Pictures

Another film early on in Keanu Reeves' impressive career is the incredibly-dark crime drama River's Edge. In the film, Reeves plays Matt, an older teen caught up in an increasingly disturbing murder scenario. With plenty of underage drugs, sexuality, and violence, the film, which also stars Crispin Glover, Ione Skye, and the late Dennis Hopper, paints an extremely bleak picture of American teenagehood. That said, it is an excellent vehicle for Reeves' acting skills.

18 My Own Private Idaho

Keanu Reeves and his co-actor in My Own Private Idaho
Fine Line Features

In one of his more difficult roles, Reeves plays the character of Scott Favor, a fellow sex worker and friend of River Phoenix's Mikey Waters. The heartbreaking, gritty indie film My Own Private Idaho deals with heavy themes of poverty, mental illness, and closeted homosexuality, Mikey confesses his love for Scott, who then rebuffs him, falling in love with a woman. At the end of the Gus Van Sant film, the boys are separated by consequence, with Scott falling into money and opportunity and Mikey perhaps left worse off than before.

17 A Walk In the Clouds

A Walk in The Clouds cast.
20th Century Studios

The 1995 romantic drama A Walk in The Clouds is directed by Alfonso Arau and depicts the atypical love story of Paul Sutton and Victoria Aragon. Reeves outstandingly plays the role of Paul, a married soldier who has recently returned from World War Two. On his way home, he randomly meets Victoria, a pregnant single lady returning to her traditional Mexican-American father who does not believe in out-of-wedlock relationships.

Related: How Keanu Reeves Almost Didn’t Play John Wick

Paul is eager to help Victoria escape her father's wrath, so he decides to pose as her husband. He buys her a ring and gets ready to meet the family. While playing house, they actually start developing real affection for each other, and we begin to see how the lie slowly turns into the truth. The movie is most exciting when viewers see how the couple tries to navigate their way through an overbearing family while hiding a secret that can disturb the family's harmony. Without giving away much, although this movie is not one of Reeves's most famous ones, it's still a testimony that his acting was excellent right from the start of his career.

16 Sweet November

Sweet November's lead characters.
Warner Bros.

Speaking about Keanu Reeves in Romantic dramas, Sweet November is bound to be mentioned. The movie is a 2001 eye-opening masterpiece directed by Pat O'Connor that depicts the love story of a rigid workaholic, Nelson (Played by Reeves), who meets the delightful, life-loving, and down-to-earth Sarah (played by Charlize Theron). She somehow manages to change his whole perspective on life in just one month and restore the joys of living in his otherwise colorless world.

Nelson agrees to spend one month with this total stranger that he meets at a DMV test. He puts his work on pause and follows her rhythm. However, when he ends up surrendering to all that love and life have to offer, he discovers a secret that announces his lucky break is over.

15 Destination Wedding

Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder in Destination Wedding
Regatta

Keanu Reeves reunited with his Bram Stoker's Dracula co-star Winona Ryder for the charming 2018 romantic dramedy Destination Wedding, in which the seasoned actors portray two unpleasant, down-on-their-luck wedding guests who, despite their insufferable eccentricities find themselves attracted to one another. The duo's undeniable chemistry is on full display in the quirky film (even though they appear as hilariously repugnant characters), and fans of the celebrated performers couldn't get enough of their cynical banter and pairing.

14 The Lake House

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in The Lake House
Warner Brothers

Directed by Alejandro Agresti, The Lake House is a fantasy romance that is a remake of the South Korean film Il Mare. It stars the onscreen-power-couple Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves and tells the story of a romance that is born, out of the scope of time, between a doctor and an architect. The movie is a beautiful continuation of the success that Reeves and Bullock achieved in Speed.

It all begins when the doctor (Sandra Bullock) moves out of her house near a lake north of Chicago and leaves a small note for the next tenant. When the new tenant (Keanu Reeves) receives the note, he decides to respond to the address provided. Out of that correspondence is born the most unlikely of romantic encounters.

13 Parenthood

Keanu Reeves in Parenthood
Universal Pictures 

An ensemble comedy, Parenthood was directed by Ron Howard and features big names like Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, and Dianne Weist, to name a few, with Reeves in a smaller supporting role. The movie was a huge box office success, earning $126 million on a $20 million budget. It was later adapted into a TV series twice. After the first failed run in 1990, it rebooted again 20 years later. The 2010 version of Parenthood lasted for six seasons, starring established television names like Peter Krause, Dax Shepard, and Lauren Graham.

12 Bill & Ted Face the Music

Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in Bill & Ted Face the Music
United Artists Releasing 

Bill & Ted Face the Music is the third installment of the Bill & Ted film franchise, released in 2020, nearly twenty years after the first sequel. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves reprise their roles as Bill & Ted and are tasked with writing a song to save the world. The movie also stars rapper Kid Cudi, Glee star Jayma Mays, and Saturday Night Live's Beck Bennett. The film received a generally positive critical reception and was a much-needed laugh for audiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

11 Constantine

Keanu Reeves in Constantine
Warner Bros. Pictures

Based on DC Comics Hellblazer comic book, Constantine tells the story of a demonologist who can communicate with angels and demons in their true form. Condemned to hell from a prior failed suicide attempt, Constantine tries to earn good favor to get into heaven.

Related: Constantine 2: Comic Book Story Arcs the Sequel Could Follow

As such, Constantine teams up with Detective Angela Dobson to investigate her sister's apparent suicide. Angela is convinced that supernatural forces were to blame for her sister's death. During the investigation, Constantine becomes entwined in a supernatural plot involving both angelic and demonic forces. While it is unclear what the status is now that James Gunn has new DCU plans, Constantine 2 was previously announced as being in development, with Reeves set to reprise his role.

10 The Devil's Advocate

Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves in The Devil's Advocate
Warner Bros. 

Based on Andrew Neiderman's novel of the same name, The Devil's Advocate is a 1997 supernatural horror film starring Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, and Al Pacino. Reeves stars as young hotshot attorney Kevin Lomax who has never lost a case. When Kevin realizes (too late) that his client is guilty, he manipulates the situation to maintain his scorecard, securing a not-guilty vote. Kevin soon realizes that the consequences of his actions could be too great to bear.

9 Point Break

Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in Point Break
20th Century Fox

In the 1991 action-thriller film Point Break, Reeves plays an FBI agent, Johnny Utah, who goes undercover to catch a band of bank robbers. Determining that the robbers are also surfers based on a hunch from his coworker, Utah learns how to surf and works his way into the surfing community to catch the criminals.

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), the movie also stars the late Patrick Swayze and Gary Busey. Point Break, in many ways, served as the inspiration for The Fast and the Furious, which might explain why Keanu Reeves was almost cast in Fast X.

8 Much Ado About Nothing

Keanu Reeves in Much Ado About Nothing
The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Shakespeare's film adaptations can be extremely polarizing--viewers either love them or hate them. For fans of the bard, however, 1993's Much Ado About Nothing was a smash hit. In the poetic romantic comedy, Reeves plays Don John, the evil half-brother of Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, played by Denzel Washington. The movie was directed by and stars Kenneth Branagh alongside Emma Thompson, Michael Keaton, and a young Kate Beckinsdale.

7 A Scanner Darkly

Keanu Reeves in A Scanner Darkly
Warner Independent Pictures

Richard Linklater is a director known for taking risks with his films, for example, choosing to shoot the film Boyhood over several years with the same actors, giving a documentary aspect to the scripted coming-of-age film. For A Scanner Darkly, a science fiction film adapted from a Philip K. Dick novel of the same name, Linklater used the animation technique of rotoscoping, where real actors are filmed, and then animators trace over the footage frame-by-frame to give the imagery a dream-like quality. Reeves stars in the trippy film as a police officer in a world where a huge swath of the population is addicted to a mysterious hallucinogenic drug.

6 Speed

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in a bus in Speed.
20th Century Fox

Another film on the list with an unusual premise, Speed, is all about a bus that has been equipped with a bomb that will explode if the vehicle drives under 50 miles per hour. Keanu Reeves stars as a talented LAPD officer who receives a phone call from a terrorist, alerting him about the status of the public bus. He boards the vehicle, and thrilling action ensues, with most of the 116-minute movie taking place on the bus. The film also memorably stars Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper.

5 Something's Gotta Give

Keanu Reeves and Jack Nicholson in Something's Gotta Give
Sony Pictures

A Nancy Meyer rom-com starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson, this role was a diversion from Keanu Reeves' typical casting. In Something's Gotta Give, Nicholson's character has a heart attack while on vacation in the Hamptons with his significantly-younger girlfriend and her mother (Keaton).

His doctor (Reeves) orders him to stay a few extra days in the area for observation, during which sparks fly with Keaton's character, who happens to be more age-appropriate; however, she ends up falling for the doctor. Reeves excels as the doctor caught up in a complicated web of relationships and plays the romantic leading man incredibly well.

4 Bram Stoker's Dracula

Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula
Columbia Pictures

Francis Ford Coppola's iteration of Bram Stoker's Dracula is arguably one of the best vampire movies in existence. While Reeves' performance leaves something to be desired, his flat incarnation of Jonathan Harkin certainly provides some balance to the outlandish happenings of the film. Reeves recently recounted that he and co-star Winona Ryder were actually married on the set of Dracula, as they had real Romanian Priests officiate the wedding scene.