Keanu Reeves’ John Wick is about an ex-hitman who comes out of retirement to track down gangsters who took everything from him. The actor says that an action hero doesn’t have to necessarily look bulky like Schwarzenegger or Stallone
Your last three movies — Man of Tai Chi, 47 Ronin and now John Wick — are almost like a trilogy about lone warriors. What do you make of that associationIJ
Kai from 47 Ronin and Donaka Mark from Man of Tai Chi and John Wick are all definitely isolated, pushed away, trying to get back in and manipulated. They all have interesting, mysterious pasts. It sounds like a good character to play. All of those roles have been really enjoyable. It’s part of the journey. It wasn’t intentional. I put the suit on. I’ve played different kinds of roles and worked in different genres, but I guess those kinds of characters are part of my taste.
Do you feel particularly attracted to certain kinds of genre moviesIJ
Aren’t all movies genreIJ If we’re talking about science fiction or action genres, I’ve always tried, when I could, to do them in a way that’s not just cookie-cutter — that they bring something fresh or original to it and have some kind of ideas to it. I’ve been fortunate, in some sense, to do those kinds of movies that are unique.
What’s unique to you about John WickIJ
It’s the world they’ve created and the vision of the story including the shooting style, colours, the way they shoot the action. They’re doing wide shots, not a lot of cuts. They’re wanting the action to unfold in front of you as opposed to changing perspectives. That feels different — it’s a little more intimate and objective. It’s not just visceral action. You can believe what you’re seeing and it’s not just sound and fury. You can see the fluidity and what they’re doing — like that one hall shot where they’re wrestling, and he just comes through and pounds a knife into the other guy’s chest. There’s no cut.
What kind of boundary-pushing techniques did you guys want to achieveIJ
The bar got set really high, which is great. The directors were interested in integrating into this film what they call “gun-fu”, working with the weapons, and with jujitsu and judo. You can do that close quarters, throw people, and some of the MMA stuff is, again, jujitsu-oriented. They were interested in seeing transitions, seeing escapes, seeing locks, seeing holds, and get there in inventive ways.
One of the most fascinating things about the movie are the scenes of waking up. In the movie, it’s presumably the morning when the dog wakes you up but for all we know that was five in the afternoon on a set after a long day. How do you get into that space where we take it for granted that it is the first thing in the morningIJ
Yeah, waking up scenes...I don’t like them. I don’t know about other actors but for me, it’s like okay, how are you going to wake upIJ For me, it’s always what are they dreaming or where are they at beforeIJ It’s always “what’s the moment before” as an acting exercise. So what’s the moment before when they’re dreamingIJ For me, I always try to think symbolically of shape. How are they sleepingIJ Are they aloneIJ In John Wick, if you notice, he’s on his side but when he wakes up on the dog his arm is out but his wife’s not there, but the dog is there. So I’m always trying to figure out, and then how do they wake upIJ Are they going to be startled, is it slow, are they coming to consciousness, are they rememberingIJ So there’s a lot that goes into that.
You have previously worked with Chad Stehlski in the iconic The Matrix series. What was it like to team up with him for his directorial debutIJ
Both, Chad and Dave are experts in terms of this genre. The dialogue is hard-boiled but it’s also got the humour of graphic novels, the kind of amazingly original imagery and framing that we’ve come to associate with them. It’s a unique vision. I thought it was exciting and really cool to see all of these influences and experience and craft come together. Chad always thinks about action in terms of narrative. He knows how to storyboard and pre-visualise the choreography; he has a lot of experience with the camera and with production issues. It’s clear that this is what he should be doing right now.
In the early ‘90s you paved the way for the idea that an action hero could look like a regular guy and didn’t have to be a bulky Schwarzenegger/Stallone type. That is evident in John Wick too. Was that significant to youIJ
For me it was part of the story. I always thought that when we meet John, he’s kind of in his normal life. He’s not an assassin anymore. He’s just a guy. Then as you start to hear about his myth, for me it’s like that one scene in the shower. You see his back and you’re like, “Oh, he looks capable.” But before then he’s just like a normal guy.