Keanu Reeves made more money from The Matrix than any actor has earned from a single franchise in history

Protagonist of The Matrix - Keanu Reeves - has made more money than any actor from any other franchise in history.

The film star famously played the role of cybercriminal and computer programmer Neo (Thomas Anderson) in all four films.

And just incase our memories need a refresh, the film follows a future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside 'the Matrix' - a simulated reality that intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source.

When Neo finally uncovers the truth, he joins a rebellion against the machines along with other people who have been freed from 'the Matrix'.

Warner Bros

After bringing in a whopping $467.2 million at the Box office, with a budget of $63 million, it was clear that the first film (1999) took the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction to another level.

As a result, it seems that Keanu has been rewarded more generously for his role, than any other actor.

The 58-year-old reportedly came out ahead of the likes of Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Jr. for Mission Impossible and Avengers respectively.

According to a 'non-definitive list of actors who have received $30 million or more as compensation for their services in a single production', Keanu's total income for The Matrix franchise was a whopping $156,000,000.

Too many zeros to count.

In joint second place was Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise and Will Smith, who all reportedly brought in $100,000,000 of total income.

Warner Bros

Amid such a successful film career, everything could have completely gone to pot as Keanu was offered the possibility of taking up a crazy stage name early on in his career.

Ahead of the release of The Matrix Resurrections, Keanu told Good Morning America that he was once asked to take on a stage name because 'Keanu' was dubbed by some as 'too 'exotic'.

The 57-year-old explained: "So, I’m 20 years old, I’m in my first car, I wanted to be in movies, I went to Hollywood.

"And I get there and they’re like, ‘we wanna change your name'."

When a young Keanu questioned the Hollywood people at the time, their response was that his name is 'a little too exotic'.

Wanting to make a good impression, he then considered some alternatives.

ABC

After taking a deep breath, he gives interviewer Michael Strahan a name.

"Chuck Spadina," the actor claimed was the stage name he almost adopted.

"I just came up with ridiculous names," he added.

However, to the relief of many, he opted to stick with his real name.

Reeves admitted that he simply 'couldn't do it'.