Prolific since the early 1990s, Keanu Reeves has built a rather illustrious career, starring in and even directing a number of commercial and critical masterpieces. Widely regarded as the nicest guy in Hollywood, Reeves is among a select few celebrities who rarely find themselves embroiled in controversy. That said, life hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the John Wick star.
Long before he became the internet’s boyfriend, Reeves was just a regular kid, trotting from country to country, and grappling with a medical condition that must’ve made school an absolute nightmare; dyslexia. Now that he’s ascended to the zenith of international stardom, fans must wonder, has being dyslexic ever been an issue for the John Wick’s star while filming his best movies?
Keanu Reeves Has Built An Illustrious Career Despite Being Dyslexic
Keanu Reeves has built a rather enviable career, starring in over a dozen high-grossing films and recovering from multiple career setbacks. Just recently, the Constantine star proved his mettle once more with yet another wildly successful John Wick installment.
Yet, amidst this glittering success lies a lesser-known chapter: Reeves’ battle with dyslexia; the medical condition that clouded his formative years but, thankfully, failed to hinder his ascent into stardom. Confronted with reading difficulties, Reeves just couldn’t fit in in school, and ultimately walked away from formal education after attending an astonishing four different high schools.
“Because I had trouble reading, I wasn’t a good student,” the John Wick star revealed to Handbag Magazine in March 2005. “I didn’t finish high school. I did a lot of pretending as a child. It was my way of coping with the fact that I didn’t really feel like I fit in. But when I was 15, I started doing some acting and I got hooked because it was like hockey in that it allowed me to be somebody different.”
Things didn’t exactly turn around when the now 58-year-old decided to enroll into performing art school shortly after dropping out of high school. Speaking to Kevin J. Koffler for his 1998 publication, ’The New Breed: Actors Coming of Age,’ Reeves admitted to being expelled from performing art school after just one year, though this particular turn of events had little to do with his dyslexia.
“I was greasy and running around a lot,” he said. “I was just a little too rambunctious and shot my mouth off once too often. I was not generally the most well-oiled machine in the school. I was just getting in their way, I guess.”
Has Keanu Reeves’ Dyslexia Ever Been An Issue While Filming His Best Movies?
Surprisingly, Keanu Reeves’ dyslexia has seldom cast a shadow over his acting career. The now 58-year-old rarely mentions his diagnosis in interviews and seems able to master his lines almost effortlessly. In fact, for his starring role in the 3D fantasy film 47 Ronin, Reeves flawlessly delivered his lines in both Japanese and English; a commendable triumph considering his early struggles with reading.
“I recorded every scene with Japanese dialog according to the wishes of the director. If the director wanted to, he could probably release a full Japanese version of the film,” he said of his performance in the 2013 film, adding, “Doing a scene in [your native tongue], your expression changes and your emotions follow. So, by trying once in Japanese and understanding the emotions I felt when saying my lines, I was able to act with my English lines.”
Though the learning difficulties brought about by dyslexia often persist well into adulthood, Reeves has remained tightlipped about any line-learning challenges, despite being incredibly candid about conquering various on-set hurdles, such as mastering nunchucks for his most recent magnum opus, John Wick: Chapter 4.
“Two pieces of wood with chain… it was a new skill for me and I wasn’t very good at them,” the now 58-year-old said of his struggle with wielding nunchucks in John Wick Chapter 4. “But I tried… I think what I lacked in skill, I certainly had in earnestness… So, I think getting a new skill and trying to reach a John Wick-level, which is a very high level, was probably the most challenging.”
How Did Keanu Reeves Overcome His Dyslexia?
From surviving 10 years in movie jail after starring in the critically panned 2008 science fiction film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, to making a remarkable recovery after a string of commercial disasters in the 2010s, Keanu Reeves evidently possesses an indomitable spirit capable of surviving the ever-fickle filmmaking industry.
Turns out, this tenacious resolve played a pivotal role in conquering his early battles with dyslexia.
Despite being shunned in school for his reading challenges, Reeves managed to acquire an insatiable thirst for knowledge, immersing himself in a plethora of publications. “I’m not a massive reader,” he told Esquire in February 2017. “But I like to read. I go through phases. There’s always a book.”
But don’t let his modesty fool you. According to Esquire, the now 58-year-old has read everything from Proust’s ‘In Search of Lost Time,’ to Petronius’ ‘The Satyricon,’ and John Rechy’s ‘City of Night’.
Having read such complex literary works, it’s really no wonder that Reeves has seldom struggled with learning lines for movie roles. While it’s plausible that reading played a pivotal role in conquering his dyslexia-related challenges, the 58-year-old actor has been reluctant to acknowledge it outright.
When asked by Esquire whether his voracious reading habits are a way to compensate for his dyslexia and lack of schooling, Reeves demurred, opting to give a completely different explanation. “I don’t know. I mean, if I had to pin it to anything, my step-grandfather worked for Encyclopedia Britannica,” he said. “In my room, I would just open them up. There was a curiosity there. I really enjoyed it.”
