The John Wick series is a resounding success, with Keanu Reeves bringing the retired assassin
back for a third feature-length rampage.
There's no better time to break down how the actor prepares to take on the physically demanding
role.
You might be surprised at just how intensely he works to become John Wick.
While watching all the insane stunts he pulls off in the John Wick films, it's important
to keep in mind that Keanu Reeves is in his 50s.
Yet he makes those moves look effortless, and as often as they can get away with it,
yes, it's really him.
Reeves logged his first screen credit in 1984, before many of his modern fans were even born.
Since then, the man has given us decades of badass characters, many of which helped prepare
him for his turn as John Wick.
Understandably, he's starting to slow down a bit as he gets older, but he still puts
everything he can into his performances.
He mentioned in a profile in Men's Journal, "I can't do stairs as fast.
But if you say 'action,' I'll go."
"Yeah.
I'm thinking I'm back!"
To prepare for playing John Wick, Reeves goes through what he describes as a three-month
"John Wick Boot Camp" to help get him ready to take on the demanding role.
The training regimen focuses on the character's central concerns: fighting, driving, and guns.
"Lots of guns."
Reeves talked about the routine in an interview with Page Six, revealing how he sharpens his
shooting skills before the cameras roll.
As he described it,
Reeves said he loves playing and training for the role, adding that he couldn't wait
to return for a third installment.
Reeves said of Wick as a character,
"You working?"
"...Yeah."
One defining characteristic of the John Wick films is how effortlessly Keanu Reeves carries
himself around firearms.
He always seems totally in control, utilizing the smallest amount of energy possible in
order to take out his foes.
There isn't a lot of film trickery involved in his technique it's mostly just Keanu being
really, really good at handling guns.
In order to prepare for playing an expert assassin, Reeves works with shooting ace Taran
Butler, a world champion in many shooting competitions who's served as a consultant
for several different television and film productions and appeared on competitive shooting
shows like Top Shot and Impossible Shots.
In his John Wick training, Reeves has spent time with Butler at Taran Tactical Innovations,
a training ground for competitive shooters.
If Chapter 2 is anything to go by, we can expect the gunplay to get amped up even more
in John Wick 3.
John Wick also possesses some seriously impressive driving skills, which is something else Keanu
Reeves practices in his preparation for the role.
Because of the degree of difficulty involved in some of the set pieces, stunt driver Jeremy
Fry handles the more dangerous tasks, like pulling off the "flying drift" maneuver in
the second film.
However, a big part of Reeves' "boot camp" also includes working with stuntmen to improve
his own driving skills for scenes behind the wheel.
The fancy driving comes pretty naturally to Reeves, who's a bit of an aficionado in the
realm of luxury vehicles.
He's been known to own a Porsche and several impressive motorcycles.
In past films, he's sat behind the wheel of Ferraris, Mustangs, and some impressive muscle
cars of the '60s and '70s.
Reeves' trainers claim that his driving significantly improved from the first John Wick to the second.
It seems logical that he'd continue driving circles around everyone in Chapter 3.
One of the biggest problems with many modern action films lies in the editing of fight
sequences.
Whether it's to hide the fact that the actors can't really fight or not, many fight scenes
today get edited to the point where it's impossible to tell what's happening.
But Reeves' impressive martial arts résumé helps the filmmakers he works with craft much
more impressive fight scenes by allowing them to use long cuts and show techniques that
other movies can't.
Reeves trained in multiple different disciplines to perfect the fighting style John Wick uses.
Jiu-jitsu, judo, and practical grappling techniques are all mixed in with extensive gun practice
to make Wick's abilities look effortless.
The care Reeves takes to get the moves right helps to save on money, time, and editing
decisions later on.
Director Chad Stahelski, spoke about the production's approach in the lead-up to Chapter 2, saying,
Keanu Reeves' workout routine for John Wick serves a dual purpose.
For one, it's tailor-made for Wick's no-nonsense, explosive fighting style.
His character needs ruthless efficiency, not bulging muscles, so his workout is grounded
in that philosophy.
On the other hand, Reeves is in his 50s, so his workout is tailored more to strengthen
his joints and core muscle groups and have them working in harmony.
Reeves' trainer, Patrick Murphy, has said that the John Wick workout mostly utilizes
resistance bands in place of free weights, because they're easier on the joints and help
the body learn more control.
He spoke about the routine with Muscle and Fitness, saying that the focus was on, quote,
Part of John Wick's massive success is due to its amazingly choreographed and performed
action sequences.
They often read like dance sequences, and a big part of that is Reeves' focus on nailing
the moves before the cameras ever roll.
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