Keanu Reeves on how to be an action star

How does Keanu Reeves, the "nicest man in Hollywood," become John Wick, one of the most lethal of assassins? Brut asked him.

Transcript

00:00putting on a suit, put it on, you know, you get to see it move, you know, the energy action.

00:06How did you create the character of John Wick?

00:10Yeah, it started with the first film, you know, where we met just a man, but a man who's grieving

00:17the loss of his wife. And so what does that feel like emotionally? And, you know, that,

00:25I don't know, that weight. And yeah, and then there was also the idea of like him putting on

00:36the suit, you know, so putting on a suit, which was kind of his armor, that he has an ambivalent

00:42relationship with, you know, he was trying to get out of it. And now it's back. So there's that kind

00:48of thing. And then once John Wick, the assassin, someone that's from his past, in a way,

00:55gets unleashed, you know, the energy of that character, the desperation of that character,

01:00who's fighting for his life, fighting for his personal freedom, you know, peace,

01:05all of those things kind of come into play in the physicality. And I find him very thoughtful,

01:15you know, just say what you mean, mean what you say. And he has a good sense of humor, too.

01:21Absolutely. And for you, so you talked about putting on the suit, right? And the haircut.

01:27How does all of that help you get into the character?

01:30Yeah, for me, I share that experience, you know, seeing the suit, putting on the suit,

01:37putting on his shoes. For me, too, putting on the watch means something. And before I lost my

01:43finger, I lost my ring, putting on the ring. I guess it sets you, it sets you, right? It sets

01:52somehow your body, your internal positioning. You know, it kind of brings it back. It's like a

02:02kind of emotional, mechanical mnemonic. You know, you put it on and there you are,

02:08you know, if you're doing a weapon or anything like that. And with the hair, yeah, I don't know,

02:16it's the shape of it. I don't know. And Chad likes it because it moves a lot in space, you know,

02:23like so during the action, it helps kind of with motion. You know, you get to see it move and it

02:29adds to the intensity, I guess, you know. So you're known today for so many roles in

02:37action films. But before that, you had several roles in independent cinema. My Own Private Idaho,

02:42for example. Do you prepare for an action role in the same way that you do an indie role

02:47that could be seen as a little bit more cerebral or internal in the mind?

02:54What's the difference in how you prepare?

02:56I would say action films are additive in the sense that there's action,

03:00you know. And other than that, I mean, I've also been continuing to work in independent cinema,

03:07you know, Nicholas Refn and Neon Demon and Anna Lily Amarpour and Bad Batch and, you know,

03:20Always Be My Maybe. So I love working in independent films. And I think John Wick,

03:24I still feel, is like an independent role. Our spirit of it.

03:30But do you feel like the preparation is different in any way?

03:33In terms of characterization, no. No, that's not. Really, in the action is really you're

03:39just getting, it's additive again, where you're getting to express in movement, you know.

03:46You know, what does Harrison Ford call it? Physical acting. You know, and for me,

03:50with Chad Stahelski and the John Wick series, I get to show character in the action, you know,

03:55his desperation, his will. So that is also part of the same as, you know, in a way,

04:06how do you enter a room? How do you move? What's your, how's your character move, you know?