A John Wick Stuntman Has Spoken Out About What Keanu Reeves Is Really Like On Set

Keanu Reeves fans nearly broke the internet when stunt driver extraordinaire Jeremy Fry opened up about working with the star on the John Wick movies. Of course, Fry spoke a bit about doubling for Reeves and performing hair-raising car chases on all three flicks. But it was the stuntman’s comments about Reeves’ personality that really caught people’s attention. After all, it’s not every day you learn what a star is like when the cameras aren’t rolling.

Balanced actor

Mind you, Fry did make a point of first praising Reeves’ dedication to stunt work. He also applauded the actor’s aptitude for learning complicated fight choreography. Interestingly, Fry said Reeves didn’t always insist on doing everything himself. Instead, he said Reeves knows what he is capable of accomplishing – but also knows when to leave it to the professionals.

Having clear boundaries

“It’s always interesting to me when actors want to do their own stunts,” Fry told Metro. “When you have people who you can use, and you won’t know that it’s not them. But Keanu, he completely gets that. He has never said, ‘I want to do that. I want to do it.’” Fry insisted that this was a good thing, though.

Jumping into action

However, one John Wick stunt that necessitated Reeves doing it himself, just as the director envisioned. After it was deemed safe enough, Reeves jumped into action. Fry explained, “We worked with him for a while on that one, and it’s a tricky one [but] he nailed it. He did such a good job,” Fry told Metro. And while this doesn’t tell us much about Reeves’ personality, the stuntman has gotten to know the man behind the movie star quite well over the years. 

Thriving stunt career

Fry first crossed paths with Reeves while shooting the supernatural thriller Constantine. And since then, his career hasn't slowed down. Fans can glimpse his masterful driving skills in blockbusters like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and Edgar Wright's Baby Driver. But even after doubling for stars like Ansel Elgort, Bradley Cooper, John Ham, and more, Fry had the most to say about working with Reeves. And he's not the only stunt performer to do so!

Iconic career

Well, John Wick wasn't Reeves' first time mastering stunts in action films. The star, who first rose to fame playing metalhead Ted “Theodore” Logan in 1989’s Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, has starred in several iconic action movies throughout his career, after all. Point Break and Speed were early 1990s hits, before 1999 sci-fi classic The Matrix changed everything.

Matrix Revolution

Chad Stahelski, Reeves’ stunt double on that movie, told Vulture in 2019, “The Matrix literally transformed the industry.” Stahelski would go on to become a director, of course, re-teaming with Reeves on the John Wick franchise. But their close relationship began on The Matrix. You’ll remember that the fight choreography in The Matrix was revolutionary – and Reeves performed as much of the martial arts and wirework as he could himself.

Discover the power of fight scenes

As Stahelski explained, “Back in the day, fight scenes were secondary to car chases and horse chases and helicopter chases.” But The Matrix showed that fight scenes could actually be part of the storytelling and not just about watching a character getting duffed up. For example, Reeves’ jiu-jitsu scene with Laurence Fishburne in the dōjō is really about Neo’s journey of self-discovery.

Keeping the connection strong

And from Reeves’ perspective, he feels that if an audience knows an actor is performing the stunts themselves, it prevents them from disconnecting. “I do all of the action,” he told Willie Geist of Today in 2019. “I’m 90 percent of what’s happening there. I’m maintaining the connection to the audience, and with the story.”

Reeves' comeback role

That audience certainly is connected, too. In 2020 Reeves is worth a staggering $360 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. And a decent-sized chunk of that wealth comes off the back of the John Wick franchise – which was a comeback of sorts for the star. Before his first outing as the titular assassin in 2014, you see, Reeves had experienced a series of commercial failures, such as 2008’s The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Instant classic

But John Wick grossed over four times its budget at the worldwide box-office and was quickly hailed as an action classic. Then Reeves starred in two sequels, John Wick: Chapter 2 in 2017 and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum in 2019. Each sequel upped the ante in terms of the scale and quantity of action on-screen, and the box-office figures also grew accordingly.

Most challenging scene

When Metro interviewed Fry, they asked about the most challenging stunt he performed on any of the Wick movies. And he chose one that came during a pivotal scene in John Wick: Chapter 2. Fry said, “The second one when he finds his Mustang,” and went on to explain what made the scene so tough to accomplish.

Working with little space

“That whole sequence we tried to make it look like it was happening in a larger area than it was,” said Fry. “The floor of this warehouse was about 3 feet lower than the parking lot outside. So they had this ramp that was already part of the building.” Within these limitations, Fry had a brainwave.

A risky stunt

Yes, the stuntman wanted to try a live-action version of a stunt he saw in the animated hit Big Hero 6, in which a car was jolted sideways. The stunt team agreed to try it, despite space being limited. “The door was 20 feet wide, and the car was about 18 feet long,” Fry told Metro, only slightly exaggerating the length of the famously long Mustang.

No room for error

Anyway, the team knew there was almost no margin for error on the stunt. “So if I was coming out if I happen to be sideways, I only had a foot on either end at speed to get the car out the door,” explained Fry. “So it was tricky.” The car even sustained some damage on the first attempt at the stunt.

Damaging the car

Much to his dismay, Fry clipped the Mustang’s front bumper on the doorway, and it tore off. As a fan of muscle cars, Fry was upset at having caused damage to a Mustang in pristine condition. He told Metro, “Physically I was fine. Emotionally I was destroyed.”

Nailing the shot

In the end, it took five takes to nail the stunt. After the director yelled “Cut!” on the fifth take, Fry said the atmosphere on set was electric. He said, “They played it back, and it was so cool. For whatever reason on that shot, everything had kind of come together. It’s one of the coolest shots that I’ve been a part of.”

Dangerous duty

Then Metro asked Fry whether he believes it is more dangerous to be a stunt driver or a practical stunt performer. And he started his answer by acknowledging the hazards of practical stunt work, which can certainly lead to injuries. “I think people get more injured during fights, a lot of practical stunts, getting thrown down a hillside, or getting tossed into a wall,” he said.

Driver's risk

However, Fry does believe that the overall risk factor is higher for stunt drivers. He reasons that a mistake in a car can more than likely lead to extremely serious injury – or worse. Fry stated, “That being said, when the big gags happen, the chances of getting hurt, seriously hurt, are probably higher with what we’re doing.”

High-risk job

Fry illustrated his point by noting the difference between making a mistake during a fight scene and making a mistake while performing an automobile stunt. He said, “Just because having an actor accidentally hit you in the face, which has happened to me, I mean, it hurts. But when you are hitting a ramp and are [going] at 60 miles an hour, the chances of getting seriously hurt, probably a lot higher.”

Considering the logistics

Also, the various logistical issues that a car stunt can present to a movie production add to the level of difficulty. You see, it’s not simply a matter of trying things out on a whim. “In a car, [if] you want to do a rehearsal, you’ve got to have a location, you got to have everyone locking it up, locking up all the different entrances to our area,” Fry told Metro.

More nerve-racking

Fry continued, “We might have the cops that have to close traffic. We got the AD on the walkies making sure that everyone’s safe. And it’s a production that’s just for one rehearsal.” All things considered, with the organization and planning that a car stunt entails plus the extra risk factor, Fry has concluded that stunt driving is more nerve-racking than practical stunt work.

Unique challenges

“Other [stunts] can be stressful,” said Fry. “But cars tend to present challenges and obstacles that other elements of stunt performing do not.” But he was quick to clarify that his intention was not to downplay the dangers of other stunt work. He noted, “But that being said, every facet of our industry of stunts has their own individual and unique challenges.”

Safety first

So, given that Fry works in an industry where he faces potential harm every day, Metro asked the stuntman if he had ever been too frightened to perform a particular gag. And while he did admit to being fearful at times, he said he would never attempt a stunt that wasn’t 100 percent safe. “I will never get to a situation where I feel like I’m rolling the dice,” he told Metro.

Thinking through the stunt

The stuntman explained, “I might have the initial feeling like, ‘Oh man, this could be really bad.’ But then when you really think about it, and I really process and evaluate it, I go, ‘Okay, this gag has been done before many times. I have all the safeties in place. There’s plenty of people far smarter and more intelligent than I that have signed off on this.’”

Never taking a gamble

Looking at his career as a whole, Fry was adamant he has never been in a situation where all the angles hadn’t been covered by the stunt crew. He believes he has never been involved in a stunt that could truly endanger his life or the life of an actor. He declared, “I would say that I never have, and I never would do anything where I felt like I was risking my life or anyone else’s.”

Questioning his career

Amusingly, however, Fry did admit that there have been occasions where he wondered why he didn’t choose a different profession. This usually happened when waiting to perform a stunt, before his adrenaline kicked in. He laughed, “Over the course of my job, I’ve definitely been sitting in the car going, ‘Oh man, I can’t wait until this is over, why didn’t I become an accountant like my mum always suggested?’”

Confirming the rumors

But how was it working with Reeves? Well, Fry didn’t disappoint in his assessment of the star – who has somewhat of a reputation in the industry. Yep, he revealed that Reeves is every bit as amazing as anyone could hope. “He is a giver, he is selfless, he works tirelessly,” confirmed Fry. “Every good thing you’ve ever heard about him is 110 percent true.”

Bonding over motorcycles

Fry told Metro about the incredible generosity shown by Reeves during the filming of his movies. For example, on the set of John Wick: Chapter 2, Fry had bonded with the star over their shared interest in motorcycles. So when Reeves approached Fry with an offer, he knew it was something he had to take up.

Dream date with Keanu

“He goes, ‘Hey, how would you like to go to Laguna Seca?’ and when Keanu Reeves asks you if you wanna go pretty much anywhere, you say yes,” Fry told Metro. “Turns out he had rented Laguna Seca, which is a very well-known popular racetrack in California, and he rented it out for two days, private rental.”

Keanu's treat

So Fry traveled to the racetrack and was taken aback by how many VIPs were there. Strikingly, he said all expenses were paid for by Reeves. “There were about 80 of his friends and people he knew,” remarked Fry. “There were celebrities there, people from different industries there, a huge cross-section of people. He put us up in local hotels, he catered breakfast, lunch, dinners.”

Weekend of a lifetime

All in all, the weekend was an extraordinary experience for Fry, who relished being able to introduce his brother to his colleague: world-famous movie star and all-round nice guy Keanu Reeves. Then they proceeded to race motorcycles all weekend long. Fry said, “That was a very special time for me for many different reasons.”

Private guy

Yet Keanu Reeves is one of those rare Hollywood stars whose private life has largely remained something of an enigma. It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that the internet went crazy when the Matrix star appeared to take a date to a Los Angeles gala. And when details of the mystery woman finally emerged, Reeves’ fans noticed something rather extraordinary about her.

Longtime couple

Yes, social media erupted when photos emerged of Reeves happily posing on the red carpet with artist Alexandra Grant in November 2019. At the time, the pair were attending the Art + Film Gala at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which has showcased several of Grant’s collections. And it turns out that the couple’s relationship goes way back.

Always wanting more Keanu

Reportedly, Reeves and Grant have been good friends since the late 2000s. Over the years, though, their once-platonic connection appears to have grown into something more romantic. But why exactly has the John Wick star’s partner got everyone’s tongues wagging?