Keanu Reeves Once Wrote Lance Reddick a Letter Crediting Him for Making People ‘Love John Wick,’ Says Late Actor Made the Character ‘Okay’ for Viewers

Keanu Reeves accepted the inaugural Lance Reddick Legacy Award at the 51st Saturn Awards and spoke to People magazine at the ceremony, where he revealed that he once wrote a letter to the late actor in which he credited Reddick with making John Wick so popular. The two actors starred together in all four “John Wick” movies before Reddick died in March 2023 at 60 years old. Reddick died just several days before “John Wick: Chapter 4” opened in theaters nationwide.

“He had such a passion and a fire for creativity, and for his craft, and for art,” Reeves said of the late actor. “I had the chance to work with him on four films over the course of eight years. Over that time, we got to know each other better. But also, he had such a grace and he was funny. I mean, humor-wise.”

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“I once told him … Well, actually I wrote him a letter, and I said, ‘People love John Wick because Charon loves John Wick,'” Reeves continued. “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 headlines the “John Wick” action franchise, but Reddick had the key supporting role of Charon in the first four movies. Charon is the concierge at the Continental Hotel in New York and is a close ally to John Wick.

“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 [Stahelski] and on that series,” Reeves concluded. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime project. I think he knew that. I knew it. And we just loved working together on it.”

After Reddick’s death last March, Reeves and “John Wick: Chapter 4” director Chad Stahelski said the film is “dedicated to his loving memory.” The movie is currently nominated for a SAG award for best performance by a stunt ensemble.

As for the future of the “John Wick” franchise, it appears highly likely that Reeves and his crew will be back for a fifth movie in the ongoing action franchise. Lionsgate has already announced “John Wick 5” is in development, although it’s anyone’s guess what’s in store as Reeves’ character was seemingly killed off at the end of “Chapter 4.”

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