That’s the way the Wachowskis formed us."
Warning: This article contains a mild spoiler forThe Matrix Resurrections.
In the world of the Matrix, everything is more than it seems and the same goes for Chad.
Chad Stahelski at the U.S. premiere for ‘The Matrix Resurrections’.Steve Jennings/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Trinity is Tiffany, a motorcycle-loving mom married to a guy named Chad.
He still can’t believe Wachowski enlisted him for his new role.
“She’s like, ‘I’m gonna put everybody in the movie.’
Keanu Reeves as Neo in 1999’s ‘The Matrix’.Everett Collection
I’m like, ‘Yeah, you don’t wanna do that.
That’s just gonna hurt your movie,'” Stahelski tells EW.
The natural instinct is to say, ‘Nah, f— off.
Keanu Reeves as Neo in ‘The Matrix Resurrections’.Warner Bros. Pictures
I’m busy.’
They call, you answer.
I owe my entire career to Keanu and Lana.
If they want me to sweep the floor, I’ll sweep the floor."
Here, Stahelski discusses first joining 1999’sThe Matrixand coming full circle inResurrections.
I was in my first five years as a stunt guy, trying to figure out the business.
You gotta remember, back then martial arts wasn’t a big thing in Hollywood movies.
It was more slug-it-out Arnold Schwarzenegger fights.
You look like him.
You should go."
I kid you not, I had just got hit by a car for a TV show.
He was like, “Take lunchtime, go to the audition.”
I drove myself to Burbank, went to the warehouse, met the Wachowskis, met Keanu.
I was a big Hong Kong action nerd.
They said, “We’re gonna take you through some motions.”
It started off acrobatic.
I drove away thinking that was wacky.
They called me again, like four weeks later, to go to the same place.
I did almost the exact same audition all over again.
And then, like a month later, they called and offered me the job.
And I turned it down.
Really?I had already booked a TV show that took me through the end of the year.
Then months went by, and out of the blue I get a call from Barrie.
He’s like, “We had to push some things.
Do you still want to do it?”
I got on a plane and went to Australia and didn’t have any idea what to expect.
Got off the plane, went to the training hall.
You saw the rehearsals of what they were hoping to do.
I think at the time it was a dojo fight.
That was the first thing they were training me in.
It was just a whole different level than what the U.S. guys were used to.
I spent the next couple months learning everything I could from Woo-Ping.
I thought that was a big deal.
And the third one, I got to be one of the stunt coordinators as well.
They were gonna take him to the absolute limit before it was time to shoot.
They’re not gonna throw Keanu Reeves through a wall.
Keanu was coming into this movie healing from a neck injury.
He said he was a little concerned about it.
It’s not a problem when you know it’s a problem.
Once you acknowledge it, you choreograph around it.
And Keanu is brutally honest.
When he says he’s got this, you know he’s got it.
Are therememories from that first movie that still stick with you?Yeah, a f— load.
I got invited to dailies.
The Wachowskis were very open directors, very cool.
They wanted everyone to be inspired.
We’re all big anime fans, Hong Kong action fans.
We all knew it.
Everybody knew it before the movie was even out.
It was that obvious.
They wanted to go bigger with the wire work.
So I got the best of everything.
I got to work with the best U.S. stunt people, the best people in Hong Kong.
Did you sense a change working on those sequels?
The cultural response to the first movie was so big.Big.
I’m not gonna lie, you felt elated to be a part of it.
You were so f—ing proud to be in that movie.
When they were doingReloadedandRevolutions, everybody wanted to be a part of it.
It was a big deal.
We knew people were going to remember this in 20, 30 years.
There’s a little bit of pressure.
The Wachowskis are demanding taskmasters.
They have a work ethic that’s second to none.
You have to know your s—.
That’s no accident.
We all came from theMatrixworld.
That’s the way the Wachowskis formed us.
You’ve obviously worked with Keanu a ton since the Matrix on theJohn Wickmovies.
I’ve had it easy.
I’ve had a great f—ing career working with Keanu Reeves.
I still deal with people who see me as a stunt guy.
And believe me, I don’t mind that at all.
We may change, but they may see us as the same person they did when we left.
And there’s nothing wrong with that.
That’s human nature.
Here’s a quick story on the firstJohn Wick.
Dave Leitch and I were co-directing it.
We were super excited.
And Keanu’s always giving little pieces of advice.
He had one day off on the firstJohn Wickout of our 48-day shoot.
We’re in New York.
Dave and I walk to Ian’s trailer.
We’re going to meet him for the first time new directors, former stunt guys.
Who knows what he’s gonna think?
It’s 5 o’clock in the morning somewhere in downtown Manhattan.
Who’s sitting on the steps?
Keanu Reeves on his one day off.
Should be sleeping in bed healing.
I was like, “What the f— are you doing here?”
He was so f—ing cool and wanted to ensure that meeting went well.
I don’t know anybody else who would have done that for us.
I think I’m well versed in speaking the language I’m just not very poetic in it.
I hate the way I sound.
I hate the way I look.
I think it’s Lana’s little gag back at me that’s what I thought this was.
That’s one of the things I was very proud of.
I got to work with probably the most intelligent filmmakers on the planet, at least in our generation.
Not only did I get to work for them, they actually trained me.
My first big second-unit job, I was trained as a director by them.
They took a 25-year-old stunt kid Keanu’s double and taught me.
That’s nuts, man.
I don’t know.
Either way, I’m gonna take it like it’s a gesture of love.
The Matrix Resurrectionsis currently playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
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