Action hero Keanu Reeves battled a cold at TIFF in 1988: a look back

Hollywood good boy Keanu Reeves is known for being polite, respectful, and down to earth. In other words, he is essentially Canadian (he even considered a career in professional hockey). So it’s no surprise that on December 4, the Beirut-born, Toronto-raised actor gets a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame.

Reeves, 24, photographed here in 1988 battling a cold at the Four Seasons during the Toronto International Film Festival, was typically and modestly quoted in the accompanying article. Reflecting on the impact of other famous movie stars, he said, “I don’t think it’s going to have such a huge footprint on the world.”

However, the films that Reeves starred in, including “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” “Speed,” “The Matrix,” and “John Wick,” would disprove that view.

Of course, for the past two decades, Reeves’ off-screen charm has been as legendary as his characters. Social media is awash with candid photos of Reeves, whose “Matrix Resurrections” opens next month, offering his subway seat to the ladies, hugging puppies, sharing a rental car with stranded commuters, and hauling gear with his crew. filming, rather than earning him the award. nickname “the boyfriend of the Internet”.

Toronto dancer and yoga therapist Karusia Wroblewski apprenticed to the actor’s mother, Patric Erin Reeves, in the 1980s while attending high school in Toronto. “He had charisma even then,” says Wroblewski.

“I worked in his atelier at his home on Grace Street, sewing magnificent bespoke wardrobes for those who could afford that luxury,” he says, adding that Patric had trained as a couturier in Paris and had created elaborate hand-made dresses for the like. Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris.

“Keanu was in and out of the house where I worked,” says Wroblewski. “He was always very polite and charming. Her mother always said that her children (Kim, Keanu and her stepdaughter Karina) have a kind of magical charm. “

Patric told Wroblewski how modeling agent Elmer Olsen stopped teenage Kim on the street, and how young Keanu, who was getting interested in acting, would land roles without even auditioning. “They really stood out,” says Wroblewski. “Both Keanu and Kim were incredibly beautiful.”

But then, like today, the most striking feature of Reeves was his personality. “He was so devoted to his sister and his mother,” says Wroblewski. “Kim had a difficult time and always took care of her. She always made sure that she and her mother were okay. “