John Wick Chapter 4: 5 actors who could have played Keanu Reeves' titular role
One of the biggest theatrical releases of the year, John Wick Chapter 4, is all over the internet after it received some great reviews. The film is making massive numbers at the box office. The film, which follows John Wick, as he travels across the world to take on some of the most powerful villains in cinematic history, has received love from fans of the John Wick series and the general audience.
Keanu Reeves' performance has been especially praised. The actor is known to have handled the emotional angles of this character with as much grace as he pulled off the stunts and action that drove the film.
While John Wick Chapter 4 would not at all be what it is without Reeves leading the narrative, some fans wonder if another actor could have brought their own charm to play the character of John Wick.
5 actors who could have gracefully starred in John Wick Chapter 4
1) Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy, like Keanu Reeves, is one of the many Hollywood actors who can balance body language and action perfectly with nuanced performances. His roles in The Revenant and Inception, are his most popular and critically acclaimed roles. While the films are great themselves, they helped establish him as an extraordinary actor.
It would be easy to see Hardy's action abilities, given the wide range of action films he has done throughout his career. These include the likes of Venom, Black Hawk Down, and Mad Max: Fury Road. They are some of the most important performances that have shown Hardy's impact in the action genre.
All of this would undoubtedly make Tom Hardy a near-perfect pick to star in John Wick Chapter 4.
2) Bruce Willis
Bruce Willis' role as John McClane in Die Hard changed the action genre in Hollywood forever. Apart from being one of his most memorable roles, it also established Willis as a successful action hero. He then went on to star in other massive action blockbusters including Unbreakable and the rest of the films in the Die Hard franchise.
Unlike most action heroes, Willis has also established himself as an amazing performer with a wide emotional range. Movies like Sixth Sense and Pulp Fiction have proven his range as an actor time and again.
The audience's familiarity with Willis as an action hero would make him one of the top picks for the role of John Wick in John Wick Chapter 4.
3) Liam Neeson
Taken is another action film franchise that perfectly combines action, thrill, and emotion to offer one of the best cinematic experiences of the past few years. One of the main reasons for the franchise's success was Liam Neeson's impactful performance as the lead action hero. The films, despite being full-blown action movies, are strongly driven by emotion.
Considering the balance he strikes between genres, Liam Neeson would also make a great replacement for Keanu Reeves in John Wick Chapter 4. Neeson, however, is likely to make the role more serious. His performances usually attract emotional investment from the audience, rather than giving them the excitement an action hero would give. Perhaps that assumption is only true because of the Taken series.
4) Will Smith
Will Smith is an actor who would undoubtedly give his own spin to the character of Keanu Reeves in John Wick Chapter 4. His subtle sense of humor, persistent through a variety of his films, is what will bring that different touch to the franchise.
In I am Legend, Smith delivers one of his finest performances as a lone scientist in a post-apocalyptic world. From his performance in the movie, it is quite evident what he can do with a character like John Wick.
His other films like Men In Black also boast nuanced acting which could do a lot for the character of John Wick. There might be a great deal of emotional depth added to the story just through his expression.
King Richard also proved Will Smith's emotional range as displayed in older movies like The Pursuit of Happiness. Although it cannot be said that John Wick would remain the same with Will Smith in it, he would definitely make quite an appealing star in John Wick Chapter 4.
5) John David Washington
While Tenet is probably his most popular work, John David Washington's performances in Amsterdam and Malcolm and Marie are some of his finest. His silent persona and the serious vibe he brings about with his screen presence both complement his stardom and have established him as a great action star.
The fact that he is a former professional footballer also makes it likely that he could pull off the stunts and body language of John Wick with great ease. This would make him extremely suitable to star in John Wick Chapter 4. He might be one of the very few actors who could successfully make the role even more serious than Keanu Reeves keeps it.
Each of these actors is likely to bring about their own specific nuances and additions to the role. While it is unimaginable to fans that anyone else could play John Wick in John Wick Chapter 4, it is quite true that the actor almost defines the role of John Wick after years of playing the role with ease.
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Madhur Dave