Keanu Reeves' Stunt Double Got Knocked Out By John Wick 4's Epic Stair Fall
Being a stunt performer is hazardous, very often life-threatening, work. But that's the job, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone else on a movie set as excited to get a cool shot in the can as they are.
Safety is always the priority, and with every stunt all contingencies are thought of in advance, all necessary training is executed, and first aid crews are standing by. Still, a dangerous stunt is a dangerous stunt and sometimes things can go wrong. That could mean a broken bone or two, like when Tom Cruise famously broke his foot during the filming of "Mission: Impossible — Fallout" or when Guy Norris broke his leg during an iconic crash/ragdoll moment during the making of "The Road Warrior."
On occasion, a stunt performer will actually die while shooting a stunt scene, like when Joi Harris crashed her motorcycle during the filming of "Deadpool 2." Those occurrences are rare, thankfully, because the stunt industry prioritizes safety so much, but those horrible accidents underline just how dangerous of a profession this is.
It takes a very special kind of person to jump off of a building, get set on fire, or, say, roll down the 222 very real stone steps of the famous Montmartre stairs in Paris — which is just what Vincent Bouillon did when doubling Keanu Reeves during the making of "John Wick: Chapter 4."
Bouillon cracked his crown
It's an iconic scene, a standout even in a movie loaded to the brim with legendary action set pieces, and one they couldn't easily fake since they were shooting on an actual stone staircase. That didn't deter Bouillon, who recently talked about filming that scene with the good folks at Empire Magazine, revealing some pretty fun trivia about it, like how they had to film it four times. The first take didn't work due to a camera issue and on the second take... well, Bouillon kinda connected the back of his head with one of the concrete steps and knocked himself out. Not for long, though, as he was quick to point out:
"Just for one second. Just for a while, everyone was super-scared, even the director. He said, 'Do you remember your name?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, I'm John Wick.' I remember his eyes at that moment, because he knew I was ready to do it again."
This was after Bouillon prepared for over a month, getting his body and mind ready for this absurd stunt. All told, the stunt took a single night to film and the end result is a gangbusters sequence that plays almost like a Buster Keaton maneuver, albeit with way more bullets.
And it's not just action movie fans who appreciate Bouillon's dedication. Apparently, Keanu Reeves himself was watching the stunt. Afterward, the actor approached his stunt guy and proclaimed "Chapeau," which is French for "well done." Chapeau, indeed, Monsieur Bouillon.