John Wick 4 is the latest installment to one of the best action franchises of today. Although Keanu Reeves once again does a great job in bringing the main character to life, the film couldn’t have been possible without the contribution of other cast members. This includes Donnie Yen, who plays Caine, a blind assassin.
While Donnie Yen is being commended for his work in John Wick 4, this isn’t the first time he played an iconic blind character. He was previously seen in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, playing Chirrut Imwe, a role that brought Donnie Yen a ton of critical acclaim. Despite his previous experience, playing a blind assassin wasn’t easy for him as the actor faced some troubles during the action sequences.
Also Read: John Wick Chapter 4 ENDING EXPLAINED
It Wasn’t Easy Playing a Blind Assassin for Donnie Yen
Donnie Yen recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live where he talked about the difficulties he faced playing Caine. Yen stated that having to act a certain way all while making sure he didn’t end up hurting the stuntmen around him was not an easy task.
“It wasn’t easy to do because first of all, I have to act a certain way and I have a pair of sunglasses on. And when I was fighting with all these stuntmen, I had to be really careful because I had this cane I was whipping around and going really fast, I didn’t want to hurt anybody, but at the same time, I didn’t want to not open up and have my movements kind of diminished. So, I had to be really cautious, at the same time be free. So that was really tough to do.”
Yen also stated that the sunglasses kept constantly falling off his face during the action sequences. We are pretty sure that having to adjust his sunglasses all the time must have been quite annoying for the actor. Well, the hardships surely paid off, as people are loving Yen as Caine, and rightfully so!
Donnie Yen Recalls his Fight with Mike Tyson
While they were on the topic of on-screen fights, Jimmy Kimmel and Yen talked about the fight scene between the actor and Mike Tyson in Ip Man 3. While the scene was choreographed, Yen was worried about Tyson not having enough film experience. He was stressed about what would happen if the boxer started swinging at him during the scene, especially since he promised his wife he would return home in a single piece.
”I didn’t know what to expect, right? So I thought, you know, Mike, I love him, but then, he doesn’t really have a lot of film experience. I didn’t want him to come to the set and start swinging and (so) what am I supposed to do? And my character, IP Man, I was supposed to be very poise and very calm, right? And always block these strikes at the very last second. So there was this choreography where Mike was comin’ at me with a left hook, you know, his famous hook. And he was supposed to knock this punching bag right next to my face…We were going at it very fast and I said, ‘Wait a minute, what am I gonna do I promised my wife that I gotta get home in one piece.’ So I felt his punch was coming at me at 90 mph and I couldn’t really move sooner because remember I had to be poise and I felt his arm just kind of, I felt the wind, it was like a tornado.”
Yen revealed that during a press conference for the film, the reporters were worried whether the actor got hurt by Tyson during any of the fight scenes. However, in an unexpected turn of events, Tyson put up his injured pinky finger stating that the reporters were worried about the wrong guy.
John Wick is now playing in theatres.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live
