Keanu Reeves was honored with the inaugural Lance Reddick Legacy Award at the 51st Saturn Awards held in Burbank, California on Sunday. While receiving the award, Reeves commemorated his John Wick co-star Reddick who passed away last March at the age of 60. The Matrix actor credited Reddick for making the character John Wick a huge success among the audience.
Reeves and Reddick worked together in all of the four films in the franchise. Following the Resident Evil actor’s sudden death due to heart disease, Reeves and director Chad Stahelski released a joint statement where they shared that Reddick was a consummate professional and a joy to work with.
Keanu Reeves Wrote A Heartfelt Letter To Lance Reddick
Lance Reddick played Charon, the concierge at the New York Continental Hotel, in the John Wick movies. Keanu Reeves remembered his co-star during the post-awards interview with People at the Saturn Awards. He shared that he had the opportunity to work with Reddick over eight years and got to know the actor better. Reeves admired Reddick’s passion for creativity and his craft.
When asked about his favorite memory with Reddick, the Constantine actor responded that it had to be the relationship that John Wick and Charon had. Reeves shared that he once wrote a heartfelt letter to Reddick, crediting him for the success of the movie. He explained that Reddick’s Charon loved John Wick in the movies and that made the character more acceptable to the audience. Keanu Reeves shared with People:
“I once told him… Well, actually I wrote him a letter and I said, ‘People love John Wick because Charon loves John Wick.’ Because that character loved John Wick, that made John Wick okay. And so when I got to act with him, we had such an affection.”
Reeves also added that the characters in the film shared a great affection because they had such an affection offscreen too. The Devil’s Advocate shared that they both enjoyed working on this once-in-a-lifetime project by Chad Stahelski. Reeves shared:
“The characters had such an affection, and offscreen, we had such an affection and just really enjoying working on the John Wick films, our characters, getting to work with Chad and on that series. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime project. I think he knew that, I knew it, and we just loved working together on it.”
By the time Lance Reddick appeared in the John Wick movies, he was a known face among television audiences. He had roles in popular series, including The Wire, Lost, and Fringe, and more recently he appeared in Bosch and Resident Evil. His last role in a series came in Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which was released posthumously.
Lance Reddick Also Had Words Of Praise For Keanu Reeves
In a 2021 interview with Vulture, Lance Reddick had nothing but praise for his working relationship with Keanu Reeves. Reddick revealed about the letter that Reeves wrote to him, sharing that it thanked him for “what [he] brought to the character.” Mentioning the note in the interview almost brought the Oz actor to tears.
Reddick shared that Reeves was a generous, simple, and spiritually advanced actor. While Reeves’s shy nature made Reddick feel like he didn’t know him that well, he added that he just adored the Knock Knock actor. Reddick shared with Vulture:
“He’s also very shy. This is going to sound really weird, but — he seems simple, but spiritually he’s very advanced. On one hand I feel like I don’t know him very well but on the other, I just adore that guy. He’s such a wonderful human being.”
Lance Reddick is survived by his wife Stephanie Reddick and two children, Yvonne Nicole Reddick and Christopher Reddick. The first three John Wick movies are now available for streaming on fuboTV. John Wick: Chapter 4 is now available for streaming on Starz.
