Keanu Reeves opens up on how he processed grief after the tragedies in his life.

Keanu Reeves is one of the nicest and most well-loved actors in Hollywood because even after all the tragic experiences he has encountered, he remains humble and kind. The actor, who found another shot of fame after starring in the action franchise John Wick, opened up about dealing with loss and grief.

Keanu Reeves in John Wick / Lionsgate
Everyone knows he lost his best friend River Phoenix after the young star suffered from a drug overdose, but he also lost his child and his partner, Jennifer Syme, in just a short span of time.

Keanu Reeves Shared How He Managed To Survive The Pain Of Losing His Loved Ones

Speaking with The Guardian, actor Keanu Reeves revealed he published a book in 2016 titled Shadows in hopes of expressing grief in a healthy way. He has known loss many times and for such a tragic event, it would have been too difficult to bounce back. He said that the poems were an attempt to:

…contextualize the grief, even be inspired by it, even find a certain pleasure in it… Let [the grief] move, and not be trapped inside it… It just put things in a new shape that I could carry or have with me.

Keanu Reeves in Constantine / Warner Bros.
When asked if writing those poems while revisiting his past emotions felt cathartic, he replied, “Absolutely.” He admitted there was, of course, an emotional cost, “but, hopefully, I have enough in the bank to pay that cost,” he stated.

In a much older conversation with The Guardian, Reeves talked about his role in John Wick and how relates to the character. As everyone knows, Baba Yaga was also a man who grieved for the loss of his wife and dog.

I thought it was one of the foundations of the role. I love his grief. Well, for the character and in life, it’s about the love of the person you’re grieving for, and any time you can keep company with that fire, it is warm.

He admitted being able to relate to it to a certain degree, and he doesn’t think people can ever work through that kind of sorrow. “Grief and loss, those are things that don’t ever go away. They stay with you,” he further added.

Keanu Reeves On Moving Forward In Life

Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Resurrections / Warner Bros.
After a night of misery comes a morning of hope, and Keanu Reeves believes there’s always light after darkness. He shared with Sunday’s Parade Magazine via Keanu Reeves LiveJournal:

I think, after loss, life requires an act of reclaiming. You have to reject being overwhelmed. Life has to go on. I’m at a turning point. I don’t want to flee from life. I know the beauty of it.

The actor admitted he wants to get married and have kids in the future. Now, Reeves is in a happy relationship with visual artist Alexandra Grant whom he met in 2009. They worked on a project together in 2011, and they became romantic earlier in 2019.

After all the grief and loss he endured, Reeves finally got his happy ending in the form of a successful career and a supportive partner.