Rina Sawayama talks about making her movie debut in John Wick 4
Rina Sawayama makes her movie debut in John Wick: Chapter 4 and like with her musical performances, she doesn't miss her mark.
In the latest outing for Keanu Reeves's no-longer-retired hitman, Sawayama plays Akira, who's the concierge of the Osaka Continental and the daughter of Wick's ally Koji (Hiroyuki Sanada).
It won't be a surprise to know that being Wick's friend isn't the easiest, especially when the High Table are after him. So it doesn't take long for Akira to have to spring into action to protect her father, with Sawayama stealing the sequence with what can only be described as a 'stabbing staircase' move. (You'll know it when you see it.)
Before the release of John Wick: Chapter 4, Digital Spy sat down with Rina Sawayama to talk about her first movie role, being in awe of Keanu Reeves and getting to grips with action choreography.
As a first movie role goes, it's not so bad, is it?
Rina Sawayama: It's not too bad. Could have done better [laughs].
You've had a TV role in Turn Up Charlie, but was a movie role always something that you were actively seeking?
With Turn Up Charlie, it was amazing to work with Idris [Elba] and the team, but it was very short. There wasn't a rehearsal process and this was nearly a three-month process.
What I wanted to do with movies is [what] I always want to do with my music as well – to tell a story. I wanted to just approach the process of getting into a character, and being in the film world, and seeing how it works. That's always been my creative curiosity in terms of film.
It's never like, "I need to see myself on the big screen". It's more just like, "What would it be like to do a movie, and get into character? What's the process? How do you get into the physicality of a character? What's the costumes like?"
There are so many different departments, and hundreds of people working on it. So that's the bit I was really interested in.
How was it compared to what you had in your head? Was there a particular thing that surprised you?
I got to shoot in some insane locations that I would never be able to shoot in [laughs]. The idea that there would be so many extras, for example… You know, I've had extras in my music videos, but not this many.
That sequence at the Osaka Continental is big. It's massive.
I'd look at the call sheet, and there'd be like 200 names under the extras. And then there'd be extra choreographers who are among the extras, but they'd be shouting at the people to turn this way or turn that way while it's rolling.
There's so many moving parts that people don't know. You might be shooting a very intimate close-up scene, and there's like 100 people behind the camera. So that stuff is crazy.
Also, John Wick – a lot of it is dark, that's because a lot of it is shot in the night time. So our call time would be like 7pm, and then we'd finish at like 7am or something. Physically, the endurance was needed, but [also] the mental endurance to work night-time for weeks was a lot.
Keanu Reeves just is John Wick now after four movies. Was there a time when you were filming that you were like, "Oh my God, I'm in a John Wick movie"?
Every single day! Every day. This morning. Honestly.
He is John Wick. Even in his off times, he is John Wick, you know? Because his hair is done in a way that I think he has to keep it outside of work hours. Even if we're doing a group dinner or something, he still has the John Wick hair. So it literally is like John Wick.
What I'm just amazed by is his dedication and commitment to the stunt. He does all the stunts except for the ones where he gets run over by a car. The ones where it would be very dangerous for him to do. But he really does all of his own.
Every time I got tired, I would look at him, and be like, "I can't be tired. Look at what he's doing."
It makes us tired watching it all on screen.
It's insane. He does all of it.
For you, choreography-wise, is there actually quite a comparison between learning the choreography on stage and learning fight choreography?
If you're doing choreography for stage, if you get something wrong – you get something wrong, whatever. People film it and put it on TikTok. Whatever. It's iconic.
But if you get something wrong in the movie, you might actually get punched in the face because you're missing a dodge or whatever. So there's a danger element. But the stunt team are so incredible. They're literally at the top of their game. 87eleven, they're so great.
They managed to somehow train me in the five weeks that we had. If something wasn't quite right on the day, they would always guide me. They would just be on hand to help me.
I really truly didn't know the power of stunts and stunt teams until I did John Wick.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is released in cinemas on March 24.
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