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Killa Harkan was a long time coming for Scott Adkins. The veteran action movie star had wanted to be a part of the John Wick series ever since he saw the first film rebirth Keanu Reeves and completely reset the balance of action cinema in Hollywood. Only it took a decade and until the fourth movie for the star of cult action flicks such as Accident Man, Avengement, and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning to get the call he had been waiting for.
But there was one catch, the supremely athletic Adkins – who looks as if Batman grew up in Birmingham – would have to wear a fat-suit. However, that did not phase the Midlander who doesn’t possess an ounce of testosterone-induced ego: “I do see myself as a character actor. I’m a character actor trapped in an action star’s body… I’m a pretty immature down to Earth guy and I don’t mind making fun of myself.”
Crafting a killer
It's a good job considering the role demands quite the degree of goofiness from the usually straight as a die Adkins, though the Brummy is perfectly upfront about actually preferring to weave humour into his work. Inspired by Sammo Hung in Enter the Dragon, Killa is the size of a sumo wrestler but moves like Bruce Lee and has a grill Goldie would be envious of. The character’s centrepiece is an extended sequence set in a German nightclub drenched in waterfalls where, much to the delight of audiences unfamiliar with Adkins’ repertoire, Harkan pulls out spin kicks and moves with the agility of a UFC champion.
It of course ends with John Wick triumphant, but Harkan’s final flourish comes after he’s met his demise. The titular assassin has to steal one of Killa's teeth meaning Adkins had to fake getting punched in the head while still faking being dead. “It’s not very easy to pretend to take a punch while keeping your eyes open,” Adkins jokes while mimicking the unforgettable face he pulls in the movie.
“It’s a particular skill I appear to be very good at and I didn’t even know I’d ever need it. I was pretty pleased with the fact I never blinked on any of the takes. On the first one, Keanu squeezed my lip quite hard so for the next one I pulled a face like cottonmouth so he wouldn’t pull my lip and Chad [Stahelski] the director calls me over and I think he’s going to tell me off but he just loved it.” It was a glorious death – maybe the series’ most talked about since Halle Berry’s dogs got snappy with Jerome Flynn’s balls.
Rolling with the punches
Getting beat up is part and parcel of being an action star – after all, the movie is usually titled John Wick or Rambo or Dirty Harry and only guy can play that role – but Adkins isn’t precious about taking his licks on screen although the audience, and indeed some stars, don’t see it that way.
Adkins jokes about watching Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, how it satirises that particular attitude: “I’ve always felt that [actors having it in their contract to not get beat up] was silly but then I watched Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and it’s the scene with Al Pacino as the agent and he’s telling DiCapio’s character you should never get punked by another actor because then people will think he’s better than you. I mean people aren’t really that stupid.”
And working in the suit was not as difficult as it looked: “The trick was to move like I was 30 stone. It was only really heavy at the end of the day after you’ve been fighting all day, it does take a toll on your back but it wasn’t that bad.”
And neither was choreographing their virtuoso fight sequence. Working with director Chad Stahelski (who is a former stunt double and generally all round badass martial artist), the always game Keanu, and fight coordinator Jeremy Marinas, the four threw some concepts around and practiced moves in the gym but no choreography was actually written until they got to set – an unheard of exercise in the realm of $100 million Hollywood blockbusters.
But for Adkins, it took him back to his early days proving himself in Hong Kong where on his first ever film, he had to showcase himself to Jackie Chan. “I started in Hong Kong where everything is made up on the spot but it was a surprise this was. I’ve since been told they wouldn’t normally do that but because it was me they knew they could. And it’s a testament to Keanu as well that you can just give him something new and he can pull it off.”
Action royalty
Adkins’ career has seen him perform opposite an A-Z of action movie royalty. Sometimes he’s the lead like in the Undisputed movies where he plays imprisoned Russian martial artist Boyka. But when Hollywood comes calling, he’s often cast as a henchman who is very much a badass but not given much to do like in The Expendables 2 or The Bourne Ultimatum (where his role was cut to pieces to about 30 seconds of screen time).
Adkins has been killed by Jet Li and Jason Statham, been whaled on by Jean-Claude Van Damme, had a triple threat incident with Iko Uwais and Tony Jaa, and taken on actual UFC Heavyweight Champion in Andrei Arlovski. But for him, the pinnacle is his John Wick (and Ip Man 4) co-star Donnie Yen, the near 60-year-old legend who still moves with the grace of a ballerina and venom of a cobra.
“There is nobody better than Donnie. He has his equals like Jackie Chan and the godfather Bruce Lee. And not only is he an incredible martial artist but he is one of the fastest movers I have ever seen in my life. He’s a true filmmaker and understands the art of shooting action better than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Fighting the good fight
As for Adkins’ favourite fight scene from his 20 plus year career, he chooses one for the true action heads. Away from Hollywood, Adkins has become the rightful king of Action Movie Twitter for his stylish fights that are quick, clean, and thud with authenticity. There’s no better example of his talent than the climax to Undisputed III: Redemption where he takes on fellow John Wick 4 star and straight-to-DVD legend Marko Zaror. “That fight with Marko is my favourite fight. It’s a long fight, the choreography is really good, it’s shot really well, and has some great character moments in it as well.”
One man Adkins has never come face to face with is fellow John Wick alum Mark Dacascos. But that is set to change at the upcoming London Action Festival where the two will be hosting a panel discussing their stories of being John Wick villains, fighting Keanu, and their own prolific careers in martial arts movies.
Adkins is as surprised as anyone that they’ve never done a movie together: “It should have happened and I’d love for it to still happen,” he says, teasing that they may put on a show for the fans in attendance: “Maybe we’ll just do it on the stage and start wailing on each other.”
For Adkins, the festival is a slap back to the snobbery the genre can face, specifically in Britain but also in Hollywood which refuses to introduce a stunts award at the Oscars despite having similar gongs for makeup, wardrobe, and special effects. Adkins says it “doesn’t make sense” for the Oscars to exclude stuntmen from Hollywood’s biggest night but then that has always been the way for cinema’s most commercially successful genre. But Adkins has other things to focus on – he’s off to shoot a new movie with his old pal Zaror which means Action Movie Twitter may soon have another contender for its favourite ever movie fight.
John Wick: Chapter 4 is available now on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD. The London Action Festival takes place 21st to 25th June, which will see Adkins appear on a The Villains Of John Wick panel. Find out more here.
For more great action movies that will get your adrenaline pumping, check out our recommendations.
