(Credits: MUBI)
Thu 12 June 2025 21:30, UK
Keanu Reeves is one of the most humble movie stars in history, and that’s a large part of the reason the world loves him so damn much. This man has starred in four of the greatest action movies ever made (Point Break, Speed, The Matrix, John Wick); he gave the world the loveable doofus Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan; and he has spent his life being a relentlessly nice, down-to-earth guy in public interactions with fans and regular folks.
Indeed, Reeves’ sweet, kind nature and ability to make a genre-defining movie every decade or so have meant he has often been impervious to criticism. Sure, some people over the years have argued that Reeves, in fact, cannot act, and there’s a world in which that argument can be entertained. However, the love for Reeves runs so deep that most people don’t want to acknowledge any flaws in his acting arsenal, or if they do accept them, they argue they’re part of his charm. I, for example, am one of these people.
Similarly, Reeves is held in such high esteem that his musical efforts outside of acting, most notably his grunge rock band Dogstar, are looked upon with fondness, despite being, by most accounts, not very good.
Dogstar began in 1991 when Reeves met drummer Robert Mailhouse in a Los Angeles supermarket and struck up a conversation because of his Detroit Red Wings hockey jersey. Reeves, a die-hard hockey fan who was already a famous actor by that point, uttered the immortal words, “Do you need a goalie?” Soon, he and Mailhouse discovered a shared love of music, and they started a band with Reeves on bass and Gregg Miller as lead guitarist/singer.
Throughout the ’90s, Dogstar released a couple of albums and even inadvertently introduced the world to Weezer, whose first-ever gig was supporting Reeves’ acting side project. Though the band broke up in 2002 when Reeves’ movie career kicked into an even higher gear after The Matrix, they reformed during COVID and released a third album in 2023.
Amusingly, though Reeves was criticised during Dogstar’s initial run for being a, shall we say, limited bass player, the criticism always had an element of affection to it. Then, when the band reformed and people found out Reeves hadn’t really improved on the instrument at all in 20 years, and was as limited as ever, that affection became genuine warmth. It simply made Reeves even more relatable: he was just a guy who liked playing music with his buddies, even if he knew he wasn’t a virtuoso talent.
“Let’s be real, man,” Reeves chuckled to Guitar World in 2024. “I’m not a shredder. I could play a rock song, but I’m not a shredder. I’m certainly passionate about it and enthusiastic, but I ain’t no shredder.”
Indeed, Reeves was so self-aware of his limitations that, when he was asked if Fender planned to produce a signature bass in his honour, he baulked at the idea. “You’d have to talk to Fender about that,” he laughed. “I mean, I wouldn’t feel worthy of that.” In fact, the only scenario in which he might even consider a ‘Keanu Reeves bass’ a possibility is if he picked a custom colour, instead of it having anything to do with his actual skill on the instrument.
Ultimately, for Reeves, signature instruments are for the real musicians. He is a self confessed “fucking shoe-staring bass player” whose simple, unfussy playing tends to “stay in his rock and roll lane.” And you know what? That’s just another reason to love him.
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