Keanu Gonzalez

Notes

Keanu Gonzalez was cast in his first leading role at age 22, playing Bernardo in the 2019 Australian production of West Side Story working closely with two-time Tony-nominated Broadway choreographer Joey McKneely and highly accomplished musical director Donald Chan. Keanu’s most recent work had him performing as Kenickie in Grease the Musical (Crossroads Live). Prior to that, he played Charles Lee in Hamilton (Michael Cassel Group), understudying the lead role of Alexander Hamilton. Keanu was born in Sydney and grew up in Woolloomooloo’s housing commission. His father immigrated to Australia from the Philippines in 1974, and his mother immigrated from Serbia in 1991. Keanu is proud to have been raised in a neighborhood that cherishes community fellowship and is forever grateful to his parents, Danijela and Juan, for instilling in him the importance of family values, honesty and respect. Keanu’s performing arts journey began at the age of seven when he started practicing Kung Fu. He was on track to be the youngest member of his school to receive a black belt when he was faced with the difficult decision of choosing between his passions for Kung Fu and dancing. Keanu chose to fully dedicate himself to dancing and trained at the world-renowned performing arts school Brent Street. During this time, he studied academics through distance education to allow more time for his training. At 19, he spent time in Los Angeles studying at the prestigious Stella Adler acting school, which further deepened his passion for a life on stage and screen. Shortly after, Keanu landed his first role in the independent feature film The Siege of Robin Hood, playing the role of Tuk. During Keanu’s formative performing years, he was no stranger to acclaim, receiving several awards, prizes, and scholarships throughout his late teens. At the age of 16, Keanu was cast in his first professional musical, understudying the starring role of Scott Hastings in Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom the Musical. Understudying Scott, Keanu was fortunate enough to work one-on-one with Baz, which had a significant impact on his passion for acting, a passion that still drives him to this day. Keanu’s other theatre credits include Greg in A Chorus Line, Alonzo/Rumpus Cat and Rum Tum Tugger understudy in Cats (Australia and New Zealand) and Kassim understudy in Disney’s Aladdin. Keanu is very proud to have worked with a wide variety of incredible Australian and international theatre producers such as Global Creatures, Really Useful Group, Disney, Opera Australia, Michael Cassel Group, GWB, Darlinghurst Theatre Company, TEG and Crossroads Live Australia. Keanu would like to take this moment to thank his late father Juan for instilling in him the belief that strength comes from perseverance and overcoming challenges, and to his mother Danijela for always being a guiding beacon of light who has never stopped supporting and believing in him since the day he was born.