Norman Reedus Explains How His Sneer Was A Disadvantage

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) gracefully bowed out of the assassination game in John Wick: Chapter 4, but there are still more stories to be told in the Wick universe, and that’s why we have the latest film, Ballerina. 

In Ballerina, which takes place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), we follow Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), who, like the legendary Baba Yaga, is out for revenge after witnessing her father’s murder.

Now an orphan, she is taken in by The Director (Angelica Huston), who sees something special in her and decides to train her in the deadly style that makes John Wick the feared assassin he is. Eve’s transformation into a trained killer isn’t as smooth as she thought it would be, but she quickly learns to weaponize her weaknesses and use her surroundings to her advantage.

Ahead of the film’s release, CassiusLife’s Bernard “Beanz” Smalls spoke with newcomers to the John Wick franchise, Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) and Len Wiseman (Underworld). Reedus plays the mysterious Daniel Pine in the film, while Ballerina marks Wiseman’s entry into the franchise as a director.

Norman Reedus Explains The Approach He Took To Becoming Daniel Pine

We asked Reedus about his approach to developing his character, keeping in mind the established tone and style of the John Wick movies. Reedus explained that he used his character’s upbringing as a starting point.

“Well, I figured he grew up with his father being a certain way. He probably grew up in that world,” Reedus begins. “A lot of loss, a lot of murder, a lot of regret. And whatever he was doing at that point, it got him to the stage where he was just going to fight everybody. So whatever he’s doing must be important enough for him to put his foot down.”

Len Wiseman Reveals How He Kept The Feel of The John Wick Franchise While Adding His Personal Touch To Ballerina

Len Wiseman is no stranger to sitting in the director’s chair for popular franchises. But with Ballerina, he has to keep a very loyal fan base happy with a film that doesn’t have John Wick as the lead, and at the same time, add his own touch while ensuring his film keeps that John Wick energy.

“There’s a lot of levels to that that I have talked about. One thing that I haven’t really spoken to in terms of bringing my signature to this is what I do love about the franchise, which is that it just subverts expectations,” Wisemen begins. “It just always is taking the rug and doing a rug pull on you. For me, there’s a lot that I enjoy in terms of the style of doing that with camera work in terms of what people just traditionally associate with knowing.”

He continues, “Whether they know it or not, it’s just something that, it’s a film language that we know when a camera moves a certain way, we’re conditioned to know this is the end of that scene. When a camera lifts up, we go okay we can relax. And that’s when I like to really abuse the audience. And just go like, you think we’re going to do that? Or if a character leaves the room and you go, why is the camera still going on? This makes me feel uncomfortable, and then something happens. So just playing with again, it’s just the unexpected is just fun.”

Reedus & Wiseman Talk Turning Disadvantages Into Advantages

Finally, we asked Reedus and Wisman if there was ever a moment in their lives when they took a disadvantage and turned it into an advantage. Reedus pointed to making the most out of his now signature sneer, while Wisman pointed to past insecurities during his early filmmaking years.

“I started this business really insecure and had a chip on my shoulder and hated everybody. And that became a sneer towards people, and I got roles like that. So maybe my beady little eyes and my bad disposition helped me,” Reedus explained.

Wiseman adds, “I guess the thing that I have, I use sarcasm a bit if I don’t know exactly what I want to respond to. But then also something interesting that my dad ingrained in me when I was starting to direct. And when you’re a first-time director, you don’t know a lot of the technical aspects and things, and my dad said, it was just rather than jumping into an answer, just stay quiet. And it will actually make others feel a little bit uncomfortable and they will start to fill you in with what you don’t know.”

“It’s a very valuable lesson because I remember working with a DP on Underworld that had done Academy Award-winning features, and I didn’t know a lot about camera work at that time. And so when I’d be asked about certain things, just the insecurity, but I’m pretending to be a director at that point. And I’d be asked a question, I go, I have no idea what that word means. But if I’m quiet, another person will say, well, how are we going to light the whatever with? And I go, oh, that’s a rig for that. And it’s a little bit of a trick, but it helped when you’re the green new guy on the block.”

Ballerina arrives in theaters on June 6.

‘Ballerina’ Exclusive: Norman Reedus & Director Len Wiseman Talk Turning Disadvantages Into Advantages & More  was originally published on cassiuslife.com