With John Wick: Chapter 4 right on our doorsteps, it’s that time of the year where all of the back-breaking stunt work undertaken by one Keanu Reeves finally achieves its purpose as the top-bill action-thriller experience we’ve all been waiting for.
All kidding aside, you have to hand it to Reeves, who’s been bringing the eponymous hitman to life since 2014; he sure puts his back into his work. As if his sensational turn in the Matrix series hadn’t left him sweaty enough, the John Wick movies bring the actor’s penchant for stunt-work to a whole new level.
It’s perhaps gotten to the point where one may wonder if Chad Stahelski, the directorial mastermind behind the John Wick franchise, is secretly trying to destroy poor Reeves with such an intensely physical role, but, if his claim in a recent interview with Insider is to be believed, a grudge against the actor couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the director was all too happy to touch on how the art of the stunt that he and Reeves undertake together is as harmonious as they come.
No, it’s done out of love, I assure you. I think we both enjoy the challenges and we’re very stoked about ‘the obstacle is the way.’ Like, a little Marcus Aurelius.
To be fair, anyone who did somehow hate resident cinnamon roll Keanu Reeves would almost certainly have to do so secretly, and with the sheer pain that John Wick continues to get put through with every passing film, there’s no harm in checking just to be sure.
John Wick: Chapter 4 will release to theaters on March 24.