Summary

• Keanu Reeves smokes, starting due to movie roles, but has said regrets the habit he picked up.
• Reeves is known not only for his versatile acting, but for his respectful treatment of fans.
• Smoking played central roles in characters Reeves portrayed in movies like Feeling Minnesota and Constantine.

This article includes references to suicide.

Reeves frequently goes viral for the way he treats strangers and fans with respect even though he is an A-list actor, as well as his discreet lifestyle and philanthropic efforts.

Reeves broke out into Hollywood in the sci-fi comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and cemented himself as an action star with early '90s movies like Point Break and Speed. As a versatile actor, Reeves has also established himself across all movie genres, starring in horror (The Devil's Advocate), dramas (My Own Private Idaho), and rom-coms (Something's Gotta Give and Always Be My Maybe). However, Reeves is most iconic for starring in the smash-hit The Matrix and John Wick franchises. Reeves has played many roles including two where smoking was a central part of the character's personality.

Keanu Reeves Started Smoking While Filming Feeling Minnesota

Most Of The Characters Were Heavy Smokers

In 2008, Reeves was interviewed by the Daily Mail, and he revealed that he regrets his smoking habit, saying, "Smoking. I didn't even start until I was 30. I got hooked making Feeling Minnesota and now it's a prison, but I want to stop." Feeling Minnesota was released in 1996, and stars Reeves as Jjaks Clayton. The movie also features Cameron Diaz as Freddie Clayton and Vincent D'Onofrio as Jjaks' brother Sam. In the story, Freddie meets Jjaks at her wedding to Sam and falls for him instead.

Taking up smoking clearly helped Reeves get into character while playing Jjaks.

Jjaks and Freddie get together, and in retaliation, Sam kills Freddie and tries to frame Jjaks for her death. In Feeling Minnesota, multiple characters are heavy smokers, Jjaks included. While Feeling Minnesota has comedic elements, its central plot is a crime story that includes deception, theft, and murder. The movie primarily received negative reviews from critics, but taking up smoking clearly helped Reeves get into character while playing Jjaks.

Reeves' Constantine Is A Chain-Smoker

DC Comics' John Constantine Used Smoking & Lung Cancer As A Storyline

Nearly a decade later, Reeves played another smoker, the titular antihero John Constantine, in 2005's Constantine. Smoking is a central part of John's character; when he is first introduced, he has terminal lung cancer and smokes daily. He believes he will be sent to Hell when he dies because he attempted suicide when he was younger. John has the ability to see half-angels and half-demons, and to try and earn his way to Heaven, he set out to send half-demons back to Hell.

John's chain-smoking in the movie reflects his own feeling of hopelessness. Keanu Reeves' character knows he will die because of his cancer, and he feels nothing will stop him from going to Hell. Because of this, he has no motivation to stop smoking as he feels he is doomed no matter what. At the end of the movie, Lucifer cures John's cancer, hoping that John will continue on a negative path and end up in Hell.

However, John shows his efforts to change by chewing nicotine gum instead of smoking. John quitting smoking in Constantine demonstrates that he no longer feels hopeless about his fate or his impact on Earth.

How Movies Usually Handle Smoking By Non-Smokers

Prop Cigarettes & Herbal Cigarettes Are Used

While Keanu Reeves started smoking because of his character smoking in Feeling Minnesota, that is not something that any movie has to demand of the actors. As a matter of fact, most movies have a way to show smoking without the actor even needing a cigarette or being around real cigarette smoke. In addition, smoking in TV and film is much rarer than it used to be, as networks increasingly do not allow smoking on-screen, although movies are less restricted. However, it does still crop up, especially in biopics and period pieces, but there is a safe way for actors to film without actually smoking.

The MPA's current classification and rating rules do not include smoking as an element.

Actors today usually use prop cigarettes, or they will use real cigarettes that don't have tobacco or nicotine, in the form of herbal cigarettes. These often contain marshmallow root, ion flower, cloves, or jasmine. However, these often taste terrible, as Jon Hamm of Mad Men said they taste like "a mix of pot and soap" (via The Independent). There is one other problem. These herbal cigarettes don't produce as much smoke as real cigarettes, so there has to be prop smoke to make it look real.

There are also cases of actors like Johnny Depp, Milla Jovovich, and Kate Winslet who are onscreen vapers. Still, those are also dangerous in ways that cigarette smoking isn't, as they also release ultra-fine metals into the body. The SAG-AFTRA guidelines also protect actors by forcing auditions to state if smoking is required and whether artificial cigarettes will be used so actors won't get into a role and then find out they have to smoke. This will help actors like Keanu Reeves from getting addicted in the first place.