Keanu Reeves Talks About 'Bill and Ted,' Doctor Strange, and the Crazy Body Count of 'John Wick'

Two and a half decades into a storied career of ass-kickery, Keanu Reeves is kicking more ass than ever in John Wick.

There are no comatose human batteries to free from the tyranny of virtual reality, nor are there innocent bus passengers to save this time around. There aren’t even hell-sent demons to send back down below. John Wick is all about sheer, bloody revenge.

It should be said that John Wick isn’t entirely crazy. A former assassin, he tries to go straight after years in the underworld, pursuing a life of love and suburban bliss. Those plans are put aside when his puppy — a gift from his late wife — is killed and he embarks on a blood-soaked path of vengeance.

Reeves spoke with Yahoo Movies about the film, as well as the perennial possibilities of a third Bill & Ted movie, whether he’d take the blue or red pill, and much more.

How many people did you kill in this movie?
The directors tell me that there are 84 people who get in John Wick’s way.

And all 84 die.
That is the outcome when you’re in John Wick’s way.

You’ve done a lot of action films over the years, was it easier or harder as you return to it?
I had about three months of training for [John Wick], I was doing stuff that I’d never done for it, like judo and jujitsu, I got to do some crazy car driving, which was really fun. I can’t run up and down the stairs as fast as I used to, but I certainly have experience and technique. Part of what that turns into, is that I can learn choreography a lot faster than I used to. And with the experience, I know what it takes to do what I have to do.

Reeves and Alex Winter in ‘Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ (1989)

People have been asking a lot about Bill and Ted. Why do you think people want a third movie this many years later?
Because they think it might be funny, in that, where-are-they-now? kind of way. I’ve met a lot of people who have affection for those characters, and I think it’s: What happened to them?

Related: ‘Bill and Ted’ Star Alex Winter Explains Why He Left (and Returned to) Acting

Before the latest script got written, what did you imagine happened to them?
I kind of asked the same question, like what happened? Like, for some reason there was a part of me that knew it wasn’t happily ever after. They had a big burden. I felt there were still some lessons and adventures to be had.

Is there a way to get the movie made with a responsible budget?
We’ve made attempts. We’ve tried to have less shots of the cosmos ripping apart. Just take a couple of them out, guys! Do we need four of them? Maybe it’s just one!

On the internet, someone tells you that you should play Doctor Strange, you say “Okay, well I’ll look into it,” and now it’s a thing. It must be an interesting time to be in this business.
I don’t know, a couple of people had come up to me about the character, and I remembered reading about it, but I don’t know the character so I have to go check it out. Maybe there’s something there. I don’t know.

Related: Marvel Searches for ‘Doctor Strange,’ We Suggest Keanu Reeves

I re-watched The Matrix last night and I thought, I think I’d honestly take the blue pill.
It takes a lot more energy to take the red pill.

Reeves battles Hugo Weaving’s Mr. Smith in ‘The Matrix’ (1999)

Obviously Neo does the right thing and takes the red one, but do you ever think, with the way the world is, maybe the blue isn’t that bad?
That’s the danger, it sure looks good, eating that steak. We just want to eat a steak. We just want to be okay and don’t want to think!

Do you have a dog?
I don’t. I don’t have any animals.

Do you agree that John Wick is at least sort of an anti-hero, since he kills 84 people to avenge one dog?
It’s not just that… The dog is representing not only companionship and enabling me to grieve un-alone, but it’s a gift from his wife. For him, it’s a connection to the light side. John’s home gets invaded, they stomp the dog in front of him to death, they steal his car, they violate the house, they smash his world, and I think his quest, his journey, is to reclaim his life. And I think the audience goes along for this ride, and I think there’s this cathartic kind of wish fulfillment.

You do not mess with John Wick’s puppy

You’ve been acting for a really long time. Is there any way you get into character? Do you have a specific process now?
For me, it starts with the script and the story and the character. And then there’s my life experience, and then there’s the filmmaker. And I go to meet the character, and the character comes to meet me, and together we create this third entity.

Do you have any rituals you do each morning before you step onto the set?
It definitely depends on the role and the circumstances. There’s always the script work, the text work. But the night before, the days leading up to particular scenes, I do a lot of visualization, working on thinking about it, visualizing the scene. That happens pretty regularly.

Related: Review: Keanu Reeves stars in the preposterous pulpy ‘John Wick’

So, what’s next for you?
The past half year, I made a picture with Eli Roth called Knock Knock. And I just wrapped up a film out of New Orleans with the director Courtney Hunt called The Whole Truth. It’s a a home-invasion movie, a family man at home working alone for the weekend, family away, two girls knock on his door, it’s raining and late at night, they say, “Sir, we’re lost,” they come in and seduce me, he ends up saying yes and then some, and then in the morning, they don’t leave, and the punishment begins.

Is there anything else that you really wanna do?
I’ve been trying to develop this film, Passengers, for the past six or seven years. And I’m hoping somehow, some way, I get to make that movie. It was a Blacklist script, so you might be able to try and find it. It’s about a guy onboard a spaceship traveling to another planet, and everyone’s kind of in suspended animation. But one guy wakes up too soon, halfway there, and he starts to go a little crazy, ends up waking someone else, a woman, Aurora, and hijinks ensue.

Does it have a big budget?
No, it’s a whole long story, but I hope I get to make that picture.

John Wick opens in theaters nationwide on Oct. 24

Photo credits: @Getty Images, Orion Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures