Keanu Reeves Is Haunted By Silly Rumors

Keanu Reeves is the very definition of a movie star, with a filmography that speaks for itself. "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" is a comedic cultural touchstone, "The Matrix" is one of the most influential action movies of all time, and the "John Wick" films proved without a shadow of a doubt that Reeves still had it. Not only that, but Reeves has become something of an internet darling, being a poster child of a genuinely kind Hollywood star.

It's not hard to see why this is the case, given that Reeves has never really shied away from putting his humanity on display. Reeves has faced more than his fair share of tragedy in life and come out on the other side; he isn't above asking other celebrities for their autographs; and he's even secretly given away millions of dollars in various ways, such as agreeing to take pay cuts so big-name actors can be hired on his films, gifting motorcycles to "The Matrix" stunt team, or donating to cancer research. Still, the fact that Reeves is able to do that in the first place highlights that while he is very down to earth, he is still a celebrity. And as a celebrity — one who is absolutely beloved by the internet, no less — you can bet there are some rumors out there about him. That being said, a lot of the gossip that has persisted about Reeves over the years, be it serious or in jest, is frankly rather absurd. With that in mind, here are some of the silly rumors that haunt Keanu Reeves.

It's no secret that Keanu Reeves is among the prominent male celebrities aging like fine wine. But what's Reeves' secret to aging so gracefully? Diet? Exercise? Skincare? Well, some believed that Reeves' seemingly-eternal youth may actually be supernatural in origin. A viral Tumblr post from 2011 declares Reeves to be some sort of Time Lord à la "Doctor Who." It starts off by comparing two photos Reeves that look nearly identical, despite one being taken in 1994 and the other in 2008. The poster then takes things one step further, nothing that Reeves also bears a resemblance to French actor Paul Mounet, who died in 1922, as well as an unknown man painted by Italian artist Parmigianino in 1530. Variants of this post are less fandom-specific, and theorize Reeves to be a "vampire."

So, is Reeves actually some sort of immortal being who has lived multiple different lives across several centuries? Or is he perhaps a time traveler who assumes a new identity in each era he finds himself in? No. No, he is not, in fact, either of those things. However, the "Constantine" star did have a good laugh about the immortality rumor during an appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in 2017. During the interview, Fallon actually showed Reeves some of the images from the Tumblr post, and remarked that Reeves had hardly aged a day since the two first met 17 years prior. But rumors aside, Reeves did confess to Stephen Colbert in 2021 that age was catching up with him as it pertains to recovering from making action movies.

In 2000, Keanu Reeves got top billing in the sports comedy movie "The Replacements," starring alongside Brooke Langton and the late Gene Hackman. In the film, Reeves portrays Shane Falco, a washed-up former football quarterback who gets a second chance at the pros as a result of a players' strike. In order to prepare for the role, Reeves did receive actual QB training, as he explained in a 2000 interview with WFAA. "I don't know what it's like to play a real football game, though. But I know what it's like to, you know, call a play, go to the line, and watch a play evolve, and to execute ... and to lead a team," he said at the time. But could the actor have been underselling himself here?

After all, since "The Replacements" came out, a persistent rumor has been that Reeves performed so well during training that real-life NFL team the Baltimore Ravens offered him a tryout. That obviously would have been quite the career change had Reeves gone through with it ... and if the story were actually true. Alas, Reeves sidelined this rumor once and for all during a sit-down with Sports Illustrated in 2024 to promote the film "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," joined by co-star Idris Elba. When asked about the Ravens' supposed tryout offer, Reeves responded, "That's absolutely ridiculous." He added that while he learned enough to look like a semi-competent QB on camera, he was nowhere near NFL level. "I got OK, but that's ridiculous," the actor said. However, thanks to some egging on from Elba, Reeves ultimately did play into the rumor a bit. "Yeah, I was out there, 'Blue 87!' [throwing] 50-yard outs no problem," he joked.

If you've spent any amount of time on Facebook, you've almost certainly seen countless posts featuring inspirational quotes alongside photos of well-liked celebrities. And given his reputation as a wholesome figure among netizens, it's no surprise that Keanu Reeves has found himself on a few of these. However, not all of these quotes are properly attributed. For instance, Reeves supposedly spoke about cutting "toxic people" out of your life in a post that began making the rounds on social media in early 2025. However, a short investigation conducted by Snopes found absolutely no record of Reeves speaking the words being shared on various Facebook pages. The earliest instance of the quote being attributed to the actor was apparently in February 2025, with some subsequent versions omitting his name entirely. At the time of Snopes' report in March 2025, the first page to attribute the quote to Reeves did not respond to requests for a source.

Another quote frequently attributed to Reeves in online photo edits is all about living life to the fullest, reading, in part, "None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought" (per Snopes). He's not the only one, though. The quote has also been attributed to the likes of fellow actors such as Anthony Hopkins and Richard Gere. So what gives? Well, the quote actually appears to have originated from blogger Nanea Hoffman. It then apparently left her bubble and was shared all over the internet, resulting in a bizarre game of telephone regarding who actually said it first. A friend of Hoffman's attempted to help set the record straight in a 2019 Facebook post.