ACTOR KEANU REEVES CREDITS DRUGS WITH 'EPIPHANIES'

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hollywood stars are often presumed to indulge in
recreational drug use, but rare is the actor who freely admits it --
except, perhaps, under threat of imprisonment.

But in the February issue of Vanity Fair, released on Monday, Keanu
Reeves says he has "had wonderful experiences" with drugs, adding,
"I mean REALLY wonderful."

Without going into detail about which drugs he has used and to what
extent, Reeves, who has starred in such blockbusters as "Speed" and
"The Matrix" describes his "wonderful experiences": "In teaching.
Personal epiphanies. About life. About a different
perspective."

He admits, however, that having a reputation as a druggie earlier in
his career was a bit of a problem. "To kind of dispel that ... I did
some things that I wouldn't have normally done if I didn't have to,"
he says.

He is not talking about making anti-drug public service announcements.
"Like a Japanese commercial to pay the rent or a video with Paula
Abdul," he explains.

Reeves -- 36, single and described as a loner by friends quoted in the
magazine -- says little about his personal life other than: "I'm
looking. I haven't been in a relationship for like five years now. ...
It was so hard the last time. ... It was just like 'Aggh! God, forget
all that, man, let's just be friends."

Reeves has sometimes evaded interviewers' questions about his
sexuality and was the subject of a 1995 rumor that he had "married"
David Geffen, the music and film studio mogul. But Vanity Fair says
"for the record ... he likes women" and calls the rumor
"rubbish."

The actor, who has three forthcoming films, denies he has any vices,
although that seems to be a matter of perception. "I just don't
relate to them as vices. ... I don't consider smoking a vice," he
says.