Keanu Reeves Revealed The Reason Behind The 'Sad Keanu' Meme
By Favour Adegoke on December 22, 2021 at 8:30 AM EST
Keanu Reeves is a Canadian actor born on September 2, 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon but raised in Toronto, Canada. Reeves was involved in theater productions a few years before he made his debut appearance in a film.
He then got his big break as an actor three years after making his debut role.
While navigating his career, he never planned on becoming an internet meme, although that happened. A popular meme of him looking sad circulated the internet for over a decade. Recently, the Canadian actor opened up about how the meme came about. In an interview, he also explained what was going on with him at the time.
People have used the picture in different scenarios since the picture hit the internet as a meme. One picture started it all, although there are multiples of it roaming on different social media platforms. Keep scrolling to see what Reeves said about it.
How Did The Meme Come About?
Reeves' state of mind became an internet gesture some years ago, although barely anyone knew how the meme started. There are different versions of it on websites and social media, which keep fans wondering how the original started.
The original "Sad Keanu" meme was traced back to a post made on Reddit, a piece of social news, live streaming, and web content platform, in 2010. Reeves was sitting on a bench eating a sandwich in the post made on the app.
https://twitter.com/FilmUpdates/status/1471975780993454083?s=20
His posture and dejected look made him look miserable, and the atmosphere around him in the picture contributed to the moodiness of the picture. The person who made the post captioned it, "I love acting because, at that point, I'm no longer who I am."
Converting viral pictures/posts into memes was an internet thing that year, so it didn't take long before the internet was filled with the "Sad Keanu" meme. It was called that name because Reeves looked so sad on that bench while eating.
Reeves Was Just Hungry, Not Sad
On December 13, Reeves appeared on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert, an American TV host, and finally addressed the talks behind the "Sad Keanu" meme. During the interview, Reeves said that he was not sad in the photo.
He said he was just hungry, although, on further questioning from the host, he admitted that he was going through a lot at the time. His downcast look had little or nothing to do with his current emotions when the picture was taken.
The "Point Break" actor insisted that he was pondering and famished when someone took the shot. His reason for looking that way is justifiable to some extent because he was eating a sandwich in the photo.
It might surprise his fans and internet users that the reason behind such a viral meme was a hungry man who was thinking while eating a sandwich.
Fans Insisted That Reeves Had A Lot Going On With Him
The viral attention that the meme got was not just because of the look on Reeves' fans and the deserted background. The meme dominated the internet because it was taken from the picture of a celebrity who had a lot to be sad about.
The level of fame he had then even made it awkward to see such a popular figure in that state. He has had an eventful acting career over the years, but his personal life was choked with losses.
Starting from his nuclear family, he spoke about how his father abandoned him as a kid when he was interviewed by Rolling Stone in 2000. In the interview, he explained that his relationship with his dad was a painful and heavy story.
He lost his dear friend, River Phoenix, who died from a drug overdose in 1993. Also, he suffered the loss of his only child through stillbirth in 1999 and subsequently lost the mother, Jennifer Syme, to a car accident two years later. Reeves explained that all he faced during those years established a concept of grief in him and affected his acting career. At the interview, Reeves insisted that he was doing very fine.
Reeves' Acting Career Run
Reeves got his debut appearance in 1986 when he co-starred in a sports/drama film, "Youngblood," alongside Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Gibb, etc. He rose to prominence after featuring in a sci-fi comedy movie three years later.
He later reprised his roles in the sequels of the sci-fi comedy movie and established his position as an action hero in "Point Break" and "Speed" in 1991 and 1994, respectively. Reeves' performance in "The Devil's Advocate" even gained more traction.
He starred in other blockbuster projects from 1999 to 2008 before experiencing a setback. However, he made a comeback by playing the character of an assassin in the "John Wick" film series in 2014.
