As you’d expect from one of the gnarliest action franchises in the business, John Wick: Chapter 4 is packing no shortage of badassery, boasting an ensemble cast with countless decades of martial arts experience and onscreen weapons training under their belts.
Leading man Keanu Reeves wowed fans in the past with his exploits on the shooting range, and he’s trained in such disciplines as Jiu Jitsu, Wushu, Krav Maga, Judo and Karate. Hiroyuki Sanada may be 60 years old, but he’s been studying Kyokushin karate for 49 of them, while B-tier icon Scott Adkins trumps that with his extensive knowledge of Ninjutsu, Krav Maga, Karate, Wushu, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, Capoeira and gymnastics.
Even then, none of them can hold a candle to the legendary Donnie Yen, who is so fast with his movements that he’s often been asked during his career to slow down his fight sequences so that the camera crew can actually pick up the footage, lest he disappear in a blur of motion. All that, and Yen plays some goddamn great piano as well.
However, one of the lesser-trained new recruits is still putting in the hard yards behind the scenes, after Shamier Anderson shared a video of his grueling training to make sure he’s nothing less than utterly convincing playing in a world of elite assassins and deadly killers, which you can check out below.
View this post on Instagram
Anderson does boast a background in Wing Chung, so he’s hardly a slouch, and the rising star could prove to be a fantastic addition to John Wick: Chapter 4, with the 30 year-old’s career is firmly in the ascendancy having recently appeared in hit Netflix sci-fi duo Stowaway and Awake so far this year.