The Matrix Resurrections star Keanu Reeves reportedly donated most of his earnings from the original 1999 film The Matrix to cancer research. According to Lad Bible (via New York Post), Reeves donated around $31.5 million to leukemia research, 70 percent of the approximately $45 million total he made from the blockbuster. Per the report, the reason for the generous donation was that, at the time, Reeves’ younger sister Kim was battling the disease having previously been diagnosed with it in 1991.
The report also notes that Reeves has continued to quietly donate to cancer research even after his sister entered remission in 2001 and set up a private foundation as well. Reeves also auctioned off a 15-minute Zoom “date” with himself in 2020 with the proceeds going to Camp Rainbow Gold, a program for children with cancer.
“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 told Ladies Home Journal in 2009. “I don’t like to attach my name to it, I just let the foundation do what it does.”
This is far from the only account of Reeves being a generous and all-around good guy. Stories about Reeves being a genuinely good person are fairly common, including one from last fall that revealed that the actor gave the stunt team on John Wick: Chapter 4 a very generous wrap gift: a Rolex Submariner. In October, Bruce Lee Concepcion and Jeremy Marinas showed off the gifts on Instagram. The watches are valued at around $10,000 each.
As for The Matrix, Reeves can currently be seen starring in The Matrix Resurrections.
“When [director Lana Wachowski] approached me, she spoke about having a story to tell which centered around Neo and Trinity, and that sounded really exciting to me,” Reeves explained previously. “Neo’s getting a second chance at his life, and he’s getting a second chance with the person that he says is ‘the only person I ever loved.’ The depth of why this film got made is the sense of it being a love story between Trinity and Neo.”
The Matrix Resurrections is now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
What do you think about the report that Reeves donated a significant portion of his The Matrix salary to cancer research? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!
