Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, and Mark Dacascos talk of 'John Wick 3': stunts, dogs, and training

Los Angeles — Hollywood seems to be deluged with a number of sequels to franchises this time of the year, including the “John Wick” franchise. The third installment of the neo-noir action thriller is about to hit theaters.

Helmed by Chad Stahelski, "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" begins with the legendary hitman, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) fighting his way out of New York when a $14 million contract on his life makes him the target of assassins like Zero (Mark Dacascos), the main assassin in this film with a vendetta. Sofia (Halle Berry), an assassin and a close friend of John Wick, will be around to help Wick with a little help from her loyal dogs.

We recently talked to Halle, Keanu and Mark in New York and they shared with us the physical challenges of doing the movie, the stunts, working with each other as well as the dog actors in the movie, and more.

KEANU REEVES

Courtesy of Janet Susan R. Nepales/HFPA

What do you like about motorcycles? When you don't ride one, do you feel like something is missing in your life?

Since you used the word riding, first of all, I like the aesthetics of a motorcycle. So I like to walk up to ride them and it’s fun. 

And I love the vibration, the movement, the independence of it. I like the way that you can travel and move in the world on them. It’s quite thrilling to ride them, there’s a physical pleasure, and it’s a great place to think, to feel or not to think or not to feel. There’s something being in the moment with a motorcycle that is special.

And yeah definitely, I go through withdrawals if I am not riding a motorcycle, sure.

In the movie, when Halle screams for help, you come running. When Keanu screams for help, who comes running? Or are you a believer in helping yourself?

Whether you are a believer in it or not, you generally have to help yourself and it’s also great if you can have help.

I have only yelled help once in my life: I had a motorcycle accident and it was in Topanga Canyon and it was at night, and I yelled for help. Out of the darkness, someone basically yelled, help is on the way! Then I saw the flashing lights of an ambulance coming down a hill.  So thank you for that.  But I never met them.

With so much of the mythology of this franchise rooted in the continental and the luxury of it, can you look back at the first luxury hotel that you remember?

The Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, that as a kid, and I arrived in Los Angeles in 1985. I had been there before, but yeah, the Chateau Marmont was a hotel, but there was mystery and rock and roll and a really amazing vibe there and I still love going there to this day.

It’s such an iconic place in Los Angeles. Can you share an Chateau Marmont experience that you will never forget?

There was a moment in time where I didn’t have a place to live and I ended up staying at the Chateau for quite a while. I would go work and I would leave my belongings there and they would keep them and then I would come back.  When I came back, they had done the Chateau Marmont letterhead, and they had put “Keanu Reeves in residence.” (laughs) I was like thank you!  So it was really wonderful to have such a place to be safe and to come back to.

As we speak, across the Atlantic Ocean in Glasgow, people are watching your films at the first Keanu Reeves Festival, the Keanu Con. What was your reaction when you heard that?

My first reaction was, what films are they showing? Which films are they watching?  And after that it was like that’s cool and then I was like, that’s weird. And then I was like cool, thank you and that is how it went.

You didn’t get invited?

I didn’t receive an invitation.  (laughs)

Courtesy of IMDB

Were you nervous about the dogs?

Certainly the first time you walk on the floor with them, just the way everyone is treating them and the way they speak to you. By the time I walked in, Halle had been with them for three, four months. 

But the first note I got was “don’t look them in the eye.” (laughs) I asked, what do you mean?  They said like, don’t look at them. Halle’s got it, you don’t got it. You walk there and when she walks, you walk. Don’t look at them, get to where you are going, stand there until we get them, and then walk. I was like cool, this is serious, alright. Then we did it.

By the end, when the animals would go in, they had been trained for over eight months to do all the kind of attacking and training that they had. So there were times when they had to go in and I had to go in. There was that one sequence where we would go with Jerome Flynn, Berrada, and after the mayhem I come over and I shoot a guy in the head and the guy is still pulling, and you see Halle and I just standing there where the dog is like rrrr!  (laughs) And so we got really comfortable.

HALLE BERRY

Courtesy of Janet Susan R. Nepales/HFPA

Can you talk about how challenging the physical preparation was? How was the dog training?

The training was the hardest, the most rigorous training process I've had for any role my entire career.  Obviously, I worked with Chad Stahelski and his 8711 stunt crew and I had to learn judo, aikido, kung fu. I had to go work with firearms which I'd never done before.

I had to become a dog trainer and it was like a six-month deal for me and it was eight hours a day of fighting, fire range and then I would end my day every day with like two or three hours of dog training with the dogs.

How were the dogs?

The dogs were amazing. I'm an animal person. I have two Australian Labradoodles so I love animals and what these dogs were asked to do, I think along with everybody had our doubts if it could actually be possible because they're animals and you hope they're going to do all these things that we're imagining. But on the day, you don't really know so a lot of time was required to spend with them, get to know them and them get to know me.

Were there just two dogs?

No, no. There were five dogs because even dogs have stunt double dogs (laughs).  Some dogs just had pretty faces and got to be in the shots where you just had to see a dog sitting next to me or like snarling or something like that and then the other dogs were the action dogs, were great action dogs. 

They love to jump and jump through cars and then we had our biting dogs that had a propensity for male crotches (laughs).

Courtesy of IMDB

So they were acting dogs you trained with?

Yes, those were the ones I trained with. But no balls were lost in the course of shooting this film (laughs).

You are 52 now. How physically strong do you feel? 

I just can't escape this 52, can I? Just can't get that number off me no matter how hard. This movie doesn't get that number off me?  Yeah, I knew I was strong enough to do it which is why I reached out to Chad and really passionately expressed to him how much I wanted to do it. I actually told him I had to be in this movie and he really didn't have a choice because I knew I was strong enough to do it and I know that I am of this certain age.

It's really important that as women, we kick this ageism in the face. I'm so tired of being defined by that number and this was a great way for me to use my art form to make that statement.

Was it a correlation to do with strength that you felt physically?

Yeah, those two go hand in hand. You're only as strong physically as you are mentally and vice versa so they go very hand in hand.

Do you usually practice because you look very fit?

Oh, yes, I've always been. I was a gymnast as a young girl so being physically fit and being active and being athletic and playing sports and all those things were always very much a part of my life, my whole life.

Does your body still respond the way it used to?

No, it doesn't respond exactly the way it used to, like that's not real. But with a different kind of workout I can get it to respond the way it used to. But it's just doing different things now than I ever used to have to do.

It was easier, now it's a bit harder. I used to be able to do it for 20 minutes a day.  Now I have to do it maybe 40.  But you can still get the same result.  You just have to change the regime.

You are very selective with your work. How important is work for you at this time in your life given that you have two little kids you are raising?

Motherhood is the single most important aspect of my life right now. Working, I have to do. I love my work. I have to raise my children so it's necessary but if I had to put it in order, motherhood and my children are at the top of the list of course. When they were really little like for the last decade, I didn't work as much because I didn't have my children until I was 40. 

I don't think you wait until you're 40 to have children and then go off and leave them while you go make movies or try to raise them while you're working. That would be hard for me the way I work so I seem selective but really what I was doing was just being at home and being mom and enjoying that and giving my kids the download.

Kids need in the early years especially from their mother so now that they're both in school most of the time now, I had to realize okay, now I can get back to some of the things that I love, that make me happy, that are just for me that don't involve my children so that's why work is back on my plate again. 

I've got really exciting things coming up and they do have to be things that excite me to leave those kids because they really need me so this movie and I'm directing my next movie very soon and so it's got to be something like that that makes me say okay, I'm going to leave them for a minute to go do something for myself.

Are you glad that you waited to have children?

Absolutely. I'm a much better mother. I know if I would have had a child in my '20s I was still learning. I was still growing. I didn't know who the heck I was and I almost do now. I'm so happy I waited.

Is it your first directing project? What is it?

Yes. It's called “Bruised.”  It's about an MMA fighter, actually a female MMA fighter.

So were you inspired by this movie?

It's ironic. This script came to me just before I met Chad and got signed up to do John Wick but ironically, I've got the same producer of John Wick and Chad is going to be my second unit director and stunt coordinator for “Bruised.” So sometimes, you just know something is meant to be when the universe works it out that way.

Courtesy of IMDB

Keanu is very sweet. How was it working with him?

Great. I have found Keanu to be a man of few words on screen and off the screen.  He's not a big talker but he talks with his actions. He talks with his intention and what I loved most about working with him was watching his work ethic and I totally related to that. It's how I approach work as well. 

We're the first ones to arrive. We're the last ones to leave. We're always on time. We're always ready to do whatever is asked of us and try to give 100% even through injury.  We both had injury; whatever happens, we don't quit and that was the part that I loved working with him. I had a partner who saw it how I saw it and I saw how he saw it and it was a good experience.

Does Keanu have a special affection for dogs?

I think so. I think everybody on the John Wick series has a special affection for dogs.  I know I do. I know Chad does.

Do you consider yourself as a dog person or a cat person?

I'm both. I have both. I have a dog and a cat. Yeah, two dogs and I had two cats. One just passed away but I'm an animal lover. Because of my kids, I've had birds, chinchillas, guinea pigs, frogs, and a lizard. I got it all at my house (laughs).

MARK DACASCOS

Courtesy of Janet Susan R. Nepales/HFPA

How was it working with Keanu Reeves?

We heard so many great things about him and they are all true. He is kind, hardworking, and dedicated. He is collaborative, obviously super talented, and we all know he is good looking.

Since he portrays John Wick, he has the most difficult schedule of all. But he also works during his days off and the man just gives his all. He shoots from 8pm to 8am doing intense fight scenes. He is always there and very present and giving. Between Chad and Keanu, they have given me and the cast a very safe environment to explore the characters.

So did you get injured especially when you were doing the big finale fight scene?

It took us a month to shoot that scene. No I did not get injured. The team that Chad and Keanu have assembled with 87/11 Action Design had a high degree of expertise. They were able to keep me safe.

Do you have any plans to go back to the Philippines?

Yes, I worked five times in the Philippines and I hope I can do it again five more times. I love the Filipino culture. Of course, the land is gorgeous. I am from Hawaii but the Philippines is stunning. The history of the country is so interesting and diverse and I hope that it is explored more on television and movies for international audiences. And I want to be a part of that. — LA, GMA News