Keanu Reeves Gives 50 Million Pounds to Unsung Heroes of The Matrix

Hello Magazine ^ | May 28, 2003 | Hello Magazine

[Mister Magoo]

28 MAY 2003 Man of the moment Keanu Reeves has shown his generosity by giving away £50 million of his earnings from the Matrix sequels. The 38-year-old decided to hand over the money to the unsung heroes of the sci-fi blockbusters - the costume and special effects teams.

Keanu is expected to make a total of £70 million from the films, thanks to a deal which guarantees him a 15 per cent profit-share, so he will still net around £20 million. Asked about his prodigious act of generosity, the actor said he already had enough cash. "Money is the last thing I think about. I could live on what I have already made for the next few centuries," he declared.

And it's not the first time the Beirut-born star has shown his jaw-dropping benevolence. While shooting the films in Australia he amazed the team of stuntmen by giving them each a £6,000 Harley Davidson motorcycle. And the actor, whose sister has leukaemia, has also channelled millions into cancer research.

His gift to the Matrix series' 29 behind-the-scenes whiz-kids will see each of them receiving £1.75 million.

Keanu's act of generosity will benefit each member of The Matrix's special effects and costume teams by £1.75 million

The actor, whose sister has fought a ten-year battle with leukaemia, has also channelled millions into cancer research

[Mister Magoo]

Pretty generous.

[LA-Lawyer]

My admiration meter just went through the roof. Talk about putting your money where your mouth is.

[My2Cents]

"Whoa..."

Yes, it is pretty generous. Good for him. (Matrix 2 still doen't have any of my money, but Keanu Reeves deserves major kudos for his decision.)

[CMClay]

Very cool ...and good looking.
Is he a Republican?

[OpusatFR]

What a prince. Nice gesture.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Guess he knows that it was them as much as anyone who made this movie what it it.

[arkfreepdom]

Don't know his politics but damn decent gesture.

[Tijeras_Slim]

2nd it=is....

[Yardstick]

Yes, amazingly generous. And just think, this redistribution of wealth happened without the government forcing it to happen.

[Constitution Day]

That is pretty damn cool.

[buffyt]

Saw the Matrix 2 and didn't care for it at all. Saw it with my 22 year old son, his 20 year old fiance, and their 21 year old friend, and they didn't like it either. It was pretty boring.

[buffyt]

But Keanu sounds like a CLASS ACT!

[bvw]

A 50-20 split. Amazing. Definitely be seeing that movie again -- despite the valid reservations about it.

[Xenalyte]

He's not smart enough to be conservative, but he has a good heart. Go Keanu!

[My2Cents]

Yeah, they seemed to get lazy in making the sequel, ditching a pretty good plot-line about a "savior" of humanity, and then leaned back on special effects....from what I've read.

[Constitution Day]

I agree. (and FWIW, I didn't care for Matrix Reloaded either)

[Bedford Forrest]

Don't know his politics but damn decent gesture.

Not only decent but also very astute.

[RightWhale]

Sounds like he has figured out the real Matrix.

[mr.pink]

Very generous and classy move.

[IowaHawk]

Nice story about someone I incorrectly had presumed to be a typical Hwood airhead. Thanks.