John Wick 4 director Chad Stahelski honors Lance Reddick: ‘part of the heart of the Wick’
The sudden death of actor Lance Reddick at age 60 was a shock for his fans and friends alike. But it was particularly startling for his fellow cast members and crew on John Wick: Chapter 4, who got the news while still gearing up for the film’s imminent release. In an interview with Polygon, Chad Stahelski, who directed Reddick in all four of the John Wick movies, describes the impact of hearing the news while on tour to promote the new movie.
“We’re all on the red carpet to get in [at the L.A. premiere],” Stahelski said. “You want to high-five everyone, going ‘Thank you so much for giving up a year in your life!” And then we find out that Lance had passed. It just crushes you.”
Asked for a particularly memorable moment on the set with Reddick, Stahelski laughed. “How do you pick one moment after 10 years with a guy that has his DNA all over the franchise you built from the ground up?” he asked. “He’s part of the heart of the Wick. You walk into that hotel and see Lance at that front desk — what’s more iconic for John Wick?”
Stahelski remembers Reddick as a particularly upbeat presence on the John Wick sets. “Lance had this persona that was literally infectious,” he said. “Like, you could hear Lance laugh across a sound stage. He was just a super-positive guy. I don’t know everything about Lance’s career, but I do know he always had to fight, he always had to really work it from every end to get to where he was. I think that’s most of the John Wick cast — they all come from really humble upbringings of ‘We work for a living.’ And to be so positive about it, and to be so ultimately happy to be doing what you love — that’s Lance in a nutshell. That guy comes on set and he’s here to work, and he’s awesome. He couldn’t be
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