Keanu Reeves donated most of his salary from ‘The Matrix’ to leukaemia research.
via: New York Post
Reeves, 57, was reportedly paid $10 million upfront for the 1999 sci-fi flick, before earning a further $35 million when the movie became a box office blockbuster.
According to Lad Bible, the actor donated 70% of the money — a whopping $31.5 million — to leukemia research.
The cause was near and dear to Reeve’s heart, as his younger sister, Kim, had been battling the disease for eight years at the time he made the donation.
Kim was diagnosed with the blood cancer in 1991, and spent a decade in and out of treatment before finally entering remission in 2001.
Reeves has continued to give money to research in the years after Kim was cured, even creating his own cancer fund.
The “Speed” star secretly set up the nonprofit, which reportedly ran for years without any attention.
“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 is quoted as telling Ladies Home Journal in 2009. “I don’t like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does.”
Meanwhile, in 2020, Reeves auctioned off a 15-minute Zoom date with himself, with the money donated to Camp Rainbow Gold, a summer program for Idaho children with cancer.
The winning bidder purportedly paid more than $19,000 for the brief date with the Hollywood heartthrob.
Unfortunately for the winning bidder, Reeves is off the market. He has been dating artist Alexandra Grant for several years.
The star also has a long friendship with actress Winona Ryder, after they filmed “Dracula” together in the early 1990s.
The pair played lovers and their characters married in the movie. In November last year, Reeves revealed the pair may actually be married in real life as a priest conducted the on-screen nuptials in a church.
Keanu really seems like a good guy, he’s definitely a great brother.
