“You couldn’t even get him to sit down”: Keanu Reeves Was Miserable While Shooting One of the Most Intense Action Sequence in John Wick
Keanu Reeves, the actor’s name is synonymous with discipline, dedication, and simple behavior in Hollywood. The Matrix star’s acting prowess can be easily seen in his spectacular filmography which ranges from action-drama to one of the best sci-fi projects in the entertainment world. He has been a part of the John Wick franchise ever since its inception in 2014.
Keanu Reeves’ dedication is well reflected in his projects. Not many people know that Keanu Reeves was down with flu during the filming of an important fight sequence for John Wick: Chapter 4.
Keanu Reeves Was Down With Flu During The Filming Of A Fight Sequence For John Wick: Chapter 4
In the Director’s Commentary section of John Wick, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch spoke about the fourth installment of the action drama franchise. They mentioned Keanu Reeves’ undying dedication to the project and confessed that the actor was down with flu during the nightclub fight sequence.
As Keanu Reeves has performed most of the fight sequence by himself, he fought his way through his illness during the filming of the scene. Chad Stahelski said-
“We were pretty dialed in that it was gonna be Keanu [performing the action]. He actually had the flu and about a 103-degree fever. He had it rough, all the days to be ill.”
He further mentioned-
“You couldn’t even get him to sit down. He just did take after take. You can’t film sequences like this unless you’ve got a cast member that goes through so much training, and that’s Keanu. Best guy in the business for that.”
The actor was in a miserable state during the filming of one of the most important scenes in John Wick: Chapter 4. He was so dedicated to John Wick: Chapter 4, that he went on to tweak his maximum dialogues from the script and performed the maximum part of the fight sequence without using a body double.
John Wick Director Chad Stahelski On His Bond With Keanu Reeves
Director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves are quite popular for giving critical and commercially hit projects together. The director-actor duo share a great rapport too. Chad Stahelski was Keanu Reeves’ stunt double in the 1999 release Matrix. During an interview with the media outlet Good Morning America, Chad Stahelski spoke about his bond with Keanu Reeves. According to the filmmaker, the Speed actor is like his elder brother. He said-
“He was already in the action world and very, very successful of the status at the time, having already starred in 1991’s “Point Break” and 1994’s “Speed. I’m still kind of new even as a stuntman at that point. I got the job thinking it was this little sci-fi action movie — and it was not. It’s ‘The Matrix. I found older brother kind of vibe” with him.”
While talking about learning and becoming a better Performer, he further added-
“There was a massive mentorship going on there, like learning and growing and becoming a better performer, a better stunt person, better stunt coordinator, better choreographer. But understanding it through not just what I was experiencing, but through Keanu helping mentor me and being exposed to the Wachowskis and these other great directors … we had worked with.”
On working with John Wick actor Chad Stahelski said-
“Keanu is game for literally anything. I mean, he’s so enthusiastic and so awesome. So again, it’s back to that mentorship of, look, we have a good sense of how to direct technically and logistically but, like, storytelling and all that stuff, we’re gonna need a little help with. And Keanu was instrumental in guiding us through the 1,000 mistakes a day we’d make.”
Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves collaborated for one of the biggest blockbusters of early 2023 John Wick: Chapter 4. With an IMDb rating of 7.8 out of 10, John Wick: Chapter 4 is currently available on Amazon Prime.
Source: YouTube/ Good Morning America
