Leonardo DiCaprio and Keanu Reeves are two names you’d never see enmesh all too well, not because they have any bad blood, but because they’re just polar opposites of each other; one is a prolific method actor whereas the other is a prominent action hero. Even their personalities are strikingly different with the former having a penchant for extraversion while the John Wick star has a more reserved yet humble disposition.

There is one thing, however, that seems to make the two actors kindred spirits – the circumstances that made them who they are today.

Keanu Reeves

Leonardo DiCaprio Grew Up in Horrid Conditions 

Besides being unanimously worshipped by their fans, perhaps the only similarity that Keanu Reeves and Leonardo DiCaprio seem to share is their past experiences that turned them into two of Hollywood’s most peerless forces.

Growing up, DiCaprio, 48, didn’t have the most idyllic childhood. With divorced parents, a rather indigent lifestyle, and a single mother raising him, the Titanic star was forced to witness the horrors of the world at a shockingly young age. In fact, he’d grown up “very poor” in the vicinity of “a major prostitution ring” in a neighborhood lined by vagrants and addicts.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Meanwhile, there was Leo, a 15-something with an ardent desire to escape the debilitating system that was a public school and to make a name for himself in the sensational world of show business instead. “I was 15, and I said to my mom, ‘I want to be an actor. Please take me to auditions.’ Because I had to get out of that public school system,” he recounted to LA Times.

And then there’s The Matrix star who had just as much of a rough time growing up and dropped out of high school to chase his inexorable passion for acting.

Keanu Reeves Too Had A Haunting Childhood

Young Reeves
Reeves was only seven years old when his family first moved to Toronto and much like DiCaprio who happens to be a child of divorce, the Canadian actor too, went through similar circumstances when his parents split, leaving his mother to fend for him and his younger sister, Kim. The Constantine star’s father was even incarcerated for drug possession, albeit he was released from prison within a couple of years. Nevertheless, it’s evident that Reeves didn’t exactly grow up basking in joy and luxury.
Young Leo
Similar to The Revenant star’s experience with education, Reeves, 48, too had a difficult time acclimating to school leading to inevitable transfers and even an instance of him getting expelled. But after having attended four different schools and failing to fit in even a single one of them, he eventually decided to drop out for good, and three years later, Reeves was in California with the promise of a gleaming future looming not too far away from him.

And lo and behold, both Reeves and DiCaprio are two of the most sought-after actors in the film industry today!