Keanu Reeves on Early Career: “In Hollywood, They Wanted to Change My Name”

The combination of “Keanu Reeves” could now mean nothing to anyone if, at the dawn of his career, the star of “The Matrix” and “John Wick” were to convince film agents. Speaking to the Smartless podcast, the 58-year-old actor revealed how one day he decided to drop everything in Toronto, Canada and seek his fortune in sunny Los Angeles.”At 20, I got my first car and went to Hollywood,” Reeves said. “Of course, when I got there, they wanted to change my name. Yeah, they said, ‘Keanu is too, uh, ethnic.’ According to the actor, at first he even hesitated and went to Santa Monica Beach to think it over.” I thought, ‘OK, what can my name be?’, and came up with, ‘Templeton,'” Keanu explained with a smile.But seriously, he decided to call himself “KS Reeves”, taking the first letters of the initial and middle name in addition to the last name. But things didn’t turn out that way for him. “Then I had an audition, and they called me, ‘KS’, and I didn’t even move an ear.” This, in the end, forced him to completely abandon the idea that was forced upon him. “I went back to the agents and said, ‘I can’t change my name,'” Reeves said.