One of the more exciting additions to the John Wick-verse is Rina Sawayama. The British-Japanese musician makes her big-screen debut in John Wick: Chapter 4, where she plays Akira, the concierge at the Continental Hotel in Osaka, Japan. You wouldn’t know Sawayama hasn’t acted before, however: she’s a natural in the role, and has a bigger part than you might imagine. This is no stunt casting, although she does do her own stunts.
“She was great,” star (and confirmed lovely person) Keanu Reeves told Entertainment Weekly about Sawayama. “I think she’s amazing in the film, and she came to John Wick training camp, and just threw herself into it, was so enthusiastic. She has a dance background, so she was really great with moving through space, and it was really great to see how she excelled, and also brought her character a flavor [to] how she fought. It was great.”
Sawayama also contributed a song to the John Wick: Chapter 4 soundtrack. You can hear it here (while doing the M3GAN dance).
John Wick: Chapter 4, which also stars Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Scott Adkins, Ian McShane, and Lance Reddick (RIP), opens this week. It rules.
(Via Entertainment Weekly)
