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ZerolovesJohn Wick just as we, the people,loveKeanu Reeves.
What happened?Thats a huge part of my wholeJohn Wickjourney.
Of course, Im thrilled because I was a huge fan.
So I took the meeting.
Who was it?I dont know if Im at liberty to say.
Thats why I kind of want to hold back.
No ones asked me this yet.
So Im like,Ahh, the whole thing is just surreal.
And I said, I would absolutely be interested.
Id be honored to work with you guys.
So I dont hear from Chad for two or three months, and then cut to mid-May.
I said, Okay, Chad, will do.
I call him first thing in the morning, and he goes, Well, things have changed.
We would like to move you from featured villain to the lead villain.
At this point, I hadnt heard from him since that meeting, so there was nothing, really.
It was just an idea or an invitation.
I said, Yeah, Id love to.
He goes, Well, read the script first, and then call me back after.
So he sends the script.
Two hours later I call him back.
I said, I love the part.
I would be honored to work with you.
When would you like me out there?
He says, Come tonight.
So I get on a flight a red-eye.
Im now reading the script only for my second time.
Im ecstatic but also going, Holy smokes!
Ive got to put this backstory of this guy together.
Ive got to get in his bones and feel.
I ask Chad, Id like to shave my hair off for the role.My characters name is Zero.
John Wick has long hair and a beard.
Itd be great if Zero was the contrast shave his head off and clean-faced.
He goes, Come back in an hour.
Let me think about this.
What do you think?
He goes, You sure you want to do this?
I said, I do.
He says, All right.
Hurry up before I change my mind.
So we did that.
Then I showed him my head, and he was apparently happy with it.
For whatever reason, he wasnt able to do the part.
Was it the same character?It was the same character, yes.
So the whole thing was just abrupt.
Would you like to hear a little anecdote of the couch-scene sequence and how that evolved?
This is our actual first one-on-one scene.
Theres fun things to play there.
When is Zero ever going to have a chance in his life to have this moment with Mr. Wick?
So the whole thing was building inside me.
You startclicking.I took a chance and did the move and then moved a little bit closer.
Big kudos and credit to Keanu and Chad because either of them could have said, Cut.
This is down for me.
This is too weird or awkward.
But Chad let it go, and Keanu stayed in character.
And that energy we held it.
Hes looking at me like, Dude, move away.
So we finish the scene.
Chad yells, Cut!
Then Keanu starts laughing and drops some F-bombs, and says, Thats too funny.
We cant do that, right?
Theres a beat, and I hear Chad from the back go, I love it.
And thats how that take evolved.
Im a huge fan.
That was very earnest.
He is so humble and grounded.
To me, he was so incredibly welcoming.
Do you have a favorite Keanu anecdote?I do.
Its kind of a Keanu-and-Chad anecdote where were shooting the finale fight scene.
I think Id like to change it up a little bit.
And they land safely, and they both get up.
For Chad, it was no problem.
I was like, Wow.
Thats pretty darn crazy.
I shouldnt have been shocked, but I was, just to see it happen.
So Keanu goes, Huh.
Keanu gets up, and hes like, All right, let me give it a try.
And Keanu is like, Okay.
And that was it.
And I thought,Wait a minute.
And I was just blown away.
I heard him say that hes not a fighter.
He just learns the moves to movie fight.
And okay, but in my estimation, he could fight if he wanted to.
Not that you want him to fight, but he could.
Youve done so many fight scenes and stunt work in your life.
Is it tougher on your body now that youre older?I would say yes and no.
Yes, just because its like a tire, theres been a lot of use on the body.
So in that respect, I need a little bit more time to rest and heal in between.
Im a lot wiser with how to do the move, how many times, what speed.
I can do it.
Im much more present now.
So maybe before I could do many more takes before getting tired.
As you get older, its a necessity if you want to survive.
Do you think Zero is dead in the end?Oh goodness.
I mean, obviously you see what happened: A sword went through his body.
In the Wick world, sure.
I had tons of bruises.
Oh man, I looked like a leopard.
That night, we get back in the morning, and I go back to my hotel.
I take a shower, take my shirt off, and Im like, What?
I had all these spots and blotches all over.
Because although the glass is somewhat flexible, you hit your shoulder, your back, or whatever.
So there were a lot of bruises.
Little aches and pains.
But happily I can tell you, nothing serious.
Did you bond with Keanu over being mixed-race Asian-Americans?I guess we did, yes.
So we talked a little bit about that, about him having some Chinese and Hawaiian, yes.
He sits on this little apple box.
Then I saw him looking at me.
He picked up his apple box, and he comes walking over.
Were both really tired, and hes coming over.
Slaps his hands together.
Lets talk about what weve done the last three months.
I just thought that was so sweet.
Like a recap of Keanu and Mark and John Wick and Zero.
That was that last day we filmed.
It was just, I dont know, it was a beautiful finish.
Thats Keanu, man.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
