Keanu Reeves has been playing John Wick on the big screen for five years now, and he’s about to present his third outing as the character with John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. In that time the actor has also passed the big 5-0 milestone, and would be forgiven if he allowed his stunt double to do plenty of his action scenes for him.
That doesn’t seem to be the case, however. According to Keanu Reeves himself, 90% of the action you’ll see in a John Wick franchise movie is really him. He said:
I do all of the action. I’m 90 percent of what’s happening there. I’m maintaining the connection to the audience, and with the story. If it’s wacky/crazy stuff, you’re just like, ‘Oh my god, what did I just see?’
Speaking during a recent interview, Keanu Reeves revealed he does actually do a huge variety of the stunts in the movie. There are plenty of stuntmen and women who are credited for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum – in particular there are special credits for motorcycle sequences as well – so it would be remiss if we didn't note there are plenty of men and women who do create additional stunts for these films.
Still, it sounds like when the actors can learn sequences, they make an effort to do so in the world of John Wick.
That said, if you’ve kept up with the franchise at all, you should know that John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum director is Chad Stahelski, who started out as Keanu Reeves’ stunt double early in his career and knows his way around an action sequence. Chad Stahelski first worked with Keanu Reeves way back when The Matrix was being made. His career with the now 54-year-old actor has been a long and fruitful one, leading into this weekend’s release.
Intriguingly, stunt work led by actors seems to be a common trend on the John Wick sets. Common previously also said he did an incredible “90%” of his own stunts on the set of John Wick: Chapter 2, confirming what Keanu Reeves said here in his interview with Today.
Halle Berry has also been discussing stunt work and the insane shape that she had to get in for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. She noted that she even broke three ribs while she was training to keep up with Keanu Reeves in the latest sequel. Per Berry:
It was a little terrifying at first because he’s so damn good, and I wanted to be on the same level as him. I didn’t want to disappoint him. I broke three ribs when I was rehearsing for John Wick… It’s like a badge of honor for me, we don’t know how it happened.
Halle Berry and her dogs have gotten a lot of notice in the early press and trailers leading into John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum. If you haven’t caught the trailer for the movie yet, you can take a look below.
As for Keanu Reeves, the actor also admitted that these days filming action sequences is a little bit different than the earlier days of his career. He said:
Yeah, it’s more about recovery, but with experience, though, you become more efficient and hopefully you get better at what you’re doing.
You can see Keanu Reeves in action as John Wick when Parabellum hits theaters on May 17 and take a look at what the critics have said about the three-quel so far. In addition, you can check out all of the big summer releases coming with our full schedule.
