When Keanu Reeves emerged on the scene in the 1980s, it didn't seem likely that he would become one of America's most beloved actors. [But over the course of a career that has spanned four decades, Reeves has applied his laid-back presence and acting style to a variety of genres, appearing in Hollywood blockbusters and pop-culture icons alike.

It helps that Reeves is a funny and enthusiastic man in real life and has a sincere respect for his audience and the roles he plays. He can be funny and self-deprecating, yet make his deep insights about life feel honest and true. From pulse-pounding action to goofy comedy, here are the seven best movies that showcase Keanu Reeves at his best.

The jaded assassin John Wick became Reeves' signature role in the latter half of his career, and it all started with this relatively low-key action film. Before the sequel expanded the mythology of John's world and introduced an elaborate criminal underworld with rules and hierarchies, the film was a simple revenge story about a man trying to avenge his dog and get back his beloved car.

At the beginning of the film, John has retired from his hitman business and is mourning his late wife. He picks up his gun again after a group of reckless young Russian gangsters kill his dog while stealing John's prized Mustang. Director Chad Stahelski directs lean but inventive action scenes, relentlessly pushing John toward a final showdown with a relentless crime boss (Michael Nyqvist).

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Reeves is an integral part of the Wachowski family's bold reinvention of the sci-fi action spectacle, anchoring the film as the understated hacker and potential savior of humanity known as Neo. Thanks to freedom fighters Trinity (Carrie-Ann Moss) and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne), Neo learns the secrets of the Matrix, a simulated world designed by robotic overlords to keep humans docile.

Once he understands the nature of the world, Neo can manipulate it at will. Reeves uses simple voice inflections and body language to show Neo's transformation from a quiet office worker to a powerful warrior. The Matrix is a landmark in special effects and action filmmaking, but it is also a human story about two people who fall in love while trying to save the world, and Reeves is at the center of it. [Science fiction author Philip K. Dick was one of the writers who greatly influenced "The Matrix," and Reeves returns to the source with this adaptation of one of Dick's best-known works by screenwriter Richard Linklater. Linklater uses rotoscoping, an animation technique in which pictures are drawn over live-action footage, to capture the trippy feel of Dick's drug-addled stories. Reeves plays Bob Arctor, an undercover agent immersed in the highly addictive Substance D

. Dick's novels often question the nature of the characters' reality, and Linklater does the same thing in the film, with shifting images placing both Bob and the audience in a constant state of instability. Bob's own identity appears unstable in part because of the technology he uses to hide his appearance, but Reeves keeps him tied to his core self even as everything around him loses meaning and consistency.

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Reeves cements his status as a major action star with this audience-pleasing blockbuster that broke Sandra Bullock. Screenwriter Graham Yost came up with one of the best high-concept hooks in action movie history: a Los Angeles city bus rigged to explode when it goes below 50 mph. Jack Traven, a dedicated cop played by Reeves, manages to get into the running bus, calming the passengers as he works out a solution to the deadly dilemma.

Jack also finds time to romance Annie Porter, played by Bullock, who takes over driving when the bus driver is injured. Director Jan de Bont delivers some great action sequences and keeps the tension and excitement going for almost the entire running time.

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Reeves and Alex Winter make a perfect pair as the title characters in this endearing time-travel comedy about two slightly dim-witted but good-natured high schoolers destined to unite the world. But first, Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves) must pass their history class and enlist the help of their future apprentice Rufus (George Carlin), who has brought a time machine disguised as a telephone booth.

Bill and Ted have an adventure through history as they meet and befriend such luminaries as Sigmund Freud and Billy the Kid. It's a freewheeling, silly comedy, but with a sweet message in Reeves and Winter's winsome performances and Bill and Ted's simple but quotable philosophy: "Be excellent to each other."

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It's not easy to compete with Al Pacino's late scenery, but that's exactly what Reeves does in this silly but highly entertaining supernatural thriller. Pacino plays lawyer John Milton, a literal devil, and Reeves balances the two as Kevin Lomax, an ambitious but conflicted young lawyer.

After winning a seemingly unwinnable trial, Kevin is lured to Milton's high-paying New York office. As Kevin throws himself into Milton's glamorous world, his wife Mary Ann (Charlize Theron) keeps him from succumbing to the dark side. Reeves finds reality in these unrealistic tales, making Kevin's battle for his soul meaningful in the film's uplifting presentation.

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Reeves has developed a reputation as a nice guy, so it is somewhat disconcerting to see him play someone so gruff, but the juxtaposition works to the advantage of this dark romantic comedy. Reeves and Winona Ryder play two reluctant guests attending a wedding at a luxurious California retreat. The two quickly develop a dislike for each other, but eventually bond over their mutual dislike of the wedding and its guests.

Writer/director Victor Levin focuses the film on the two main characters, basically leaving them alone on the screen and with only two lines of dialogue. Reeves and Ryder display a strong, thorny chemistry, and the gleeful misanthropy of the two characters is infectious. The romance is refreshing, as the two middle-aged burnouts are surprised to discover a glimmer of hope left in their lives.

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