The Incredible Stunts of Keanu Reeves in the John Wick Movies

The Visceral Action of John Wick

As one of Hollywood's greatest action stars, Keanu Reeves does his own stunts and nowhere is that more impressive than in the John Wick movies. Many factors contribute to the John Wick movie franchise's consistent success, from the stoic lead character to the clever worldbuilding of its universe of assassins. However, at the center of it all is the visceral and exciting action sequences that have helped it to become one of the greatest action movie franchises of all time. The fact that Keanu Reeves does his own stunts for the John Wick movies only adds to the effectiveness of these sequences.

John with a gun in John Wick

Reeves has built a reputation over the years as being hands-on with his action movie roles, memorably performing his own fight sequences in The Matrix and its sequels. However, there are a lot of different elements to the stunts shown in all the John Wick movies. The action features a blend of martial arts, high-stakes gun-fu, and raw tactical combat. On top of that, Reeves has also done various car stunts, done impressive knife play, and even ridden a horse. John Wick served as something as a comeback for Reeves in the action movie world and his dedication to the role makes the success all the more deserving.

Keanu Reeves with a bloody face in John Wick: Chapter 2.

Reeves has shared that he did over 90% of his stunts in the first John Wick movie and close to 95% in John Wick: Chapter 2. His commitment to performing his stunts leaves more room for director Chad Stahelski to be creative with action sequences without worrying too much about transitioning between the actor and his stunt doubles. Audiences may rarely notice when a stunt double replaces an actor in an action scene, but Reeve's ability to do most of his stunts can subtly enhance the scene's realism, making it more immersive for viewers.

John with a gun in a nightclub in John Wick Chapter 4

Doing his stunts also benefits Reeves in many ways. For instance, going through the training required to pull off stunts from his John Wick movies allows him to step inside his character's boots and wholly embody him during filming. As Reeves highlighted in an interview, his stunts help him maintain 'the connection with the audience and with the story.' Given how performing John Wick's stunts demands a high level of athleticism, talent, and commitment toward training, it is another impressive element within Reeves' overall performance.

Keanu Reeves as John Wick uses a silenced pistol amid a crowd in John Wick Chapter 3 Parabellum.

Behind the Scenes: Reeves' Training and Dedication

To shed light on how he gauges an actor's capabilities to perform stunts, Chad Stahelski said that when it comes to martial arts choreography and action scenes involving driving, Keanu Reeves is as impressive as professional stunt people, if not better. Comparing Keanu Reeves' execution of stunts with his own experiences as a stuntperson, Stahelski claimed that Reeves does 'more choreography and executes the memorization of the moves, safety with the gun thing, better than I would say 95 to 98 percent of any stunt person I've ever seen.' In another interview for John Wick 2, Reeves explained his daily training regime for the role.

Keanu Reeves as John Wick racking the slide on his pistol in Chapter 4

Recalling how he had fun training, Reeves said he worked with professionals to train with pistols and other weapons and even practiced stunt driving and Brazilian jiu-jitsu for the John Wick fight scenes. He added that he would start training around 9 in the morning and do it till 1 or 2 in the afternoon. He would then 'eat lunch, lift weights, train again, and do that five/six days a week.' For John Wick: Chapter 4, Reeves recounted that he went through 12 weeks of training, which also involved practicing nun-chucks. To enhance his driving skills for the fourth installment, he also learned 180s, forward-into-reverse 180s, reverse-into-forward 270s, and drifting.

John Wick running down an escalator in John Wick

The Line Between Risk and Reward

As Chad Stahelski explained, he trusts Keanu Reeves with most stunts that involve martial arts and driving. However, the director draws a line when a stunt scene is too risky for the actor to perform. For instance, with his experience as a stunt person, Stahelski realizes that getting a hit by car in a stunt scene can go wrong even for a professional stunt double. Understanding the danger behind performing these scenes, Stahelski lets stunt doubles take over.

Even the one-take stair fall scene towards the ending moments of John Wick: Chapter 4, was performed by Reeves' stunt double Vincent Bouillon. Considering how it took John Wick's team two days to film that scene during which the stunt double had to fall several times, Bouillon deserves appreciation for making the scene incredibly plausible. Reeves, too, deserves credit for putting in the work and taking so many potential risks to bring John Wick's compelling action scenes to the screen.