Keanu Reeves was paid one of highest ever salaries for a movie role after genius contract negotiation

Keanu Reeves is one of the most successful actors in film business for a reason

Not only is Keanu Reeves one of our most beloved action stars, and widely known as one of the nicest people in Hollywood – he also has a savvy business sense.

Reeves has starred in countless classics over the years, from John Wick and Speed to Constantine and The Devil’s Advocate.

But without a doubt, it’s The Matrix series which made him a superstar.

The sci-fi franchise didn’t only catapult him to A-List status – but he also made a tonne of cash in the process.

How much Keanu Reeves earned from The Matrix series (1999-2022)

As reported by Screen Rant, Reeves was payed the following salary for each film:

• $10 million for The Matrix

• $15 million for The Matrix Reloaded

• $15 million for The Matrix Revolutions

• $12-14 million for The Matrix Resurrections

However, the salary alone barely scratched the surface on how much he made in total.

Reeves has made over $200 million from continued negotiated backend fees, according to the outlet.

This means he got a share of the $1.7 billion the franchise earned at the box office.

And another clause, that’s mentioned in all of his contracts, is that he won’t allow studios to digitally alter his face.

Reeves starred in all four of The Matrix films (Ronald Siemoneit/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)

“I don’t mind if someone takes a blink out during an edit,” Reeves explained to Variety in 2023.

“But early on, in the early 2000s, or it might have been the ’90s, I had a performance changed.

“They added a tear to my face, and I was just like, ‘Huh?!’ It was like, I don’t even have to be here.”

On the whole, Reeves just doesn’t like digital alterations.

“What’s frustrating about that is you lose your agency,” the actor said.

“When you give a performance in a film, you know you’re going to be edited, but you’re participating in that. If you go into deepfake-land, it has none of your points of view.”

The Matrix has reportedly earned him around $200 million (Sam Santos/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures Canada)

He went on to say how he is scared of ‘deepfake’ cinema and how younger people ‘don’t care’ if it’s not real.

“People are growing up with these tools: We’re listening to music already that’s made by AI in the style of Nirvana, there’s NFT digital art,” the film star continued.

“It’s cool, like, ‘Look what the cute machines can make’, but there’s a corporatocracy behind it that’s looking to control those things. Culturally, socially, we’re gonna be confronted by the value of real, or the non-value.

“And then what’s going to be pushed on us? What’s going to be presented to us?

“It’s a spectacle. And it’s a system of control and manipulation.

“We’re on our knees looking at cave walls and seeing the projections, and we’re not having the chance to look behind us.”