Despite so many legendary action stars like Jackie Chan, Tom Cruise, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, actor Keanu Reeves specifically idolized this action star in order to prepare for his action movies. This iconic Chinese-born Singaporean martial artist/actor also worked with Sylvester Stallone in The Expendables franchise. Right before playing the role of Neo in The Matrix franchise, Reeves watched videos of this star to motivate himself.
Point Break (1991) was Reeves’ first-ever official action movie, however, his action sequences in The Matrix franchise gave him more popularity. His stunts in the John Wick franchise once again secured his place as an action star in the entertainment industry.
Keanu Reeves idolized this action star
Hollywood star Keanu Reeves once explained that he watched actor Jet Li‘s Fist of Legend before preparing for his action sequences in The Matrix. In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, the actor said,
“Let’s go to Fist of Legend. Yuen Woo-ping directing [choreography for] Jet Li. I was shown that film by the Wachowskis before shooting The Matrix, and that was like, ‘This is amazing.'”
Fist of Legend was a revisit/homage to Bruce Lee’s 1972 classic, Fist of Fury. Jet Li’s heart-pumping fighting scenes paired with Woo-ping’s direction managed to make the film a massive hit.
Jet Li starred in 2010’s The Expendables
Li’s achievements extend beyond his film roles. He has won the title of Men’s All-Around National Wushu Champion five times. In 2010, Time named him as one of the 100 Most Influential People. After retiring from Wushu at 18, he went on to build a successful acting career.
Li’s first role in a non-Chinese film was as a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), and his first leading role in a Hollywood film was as Han Sing in Romeo Must Die (2000). He also made his French cinema debut with the Luc Besson-produced films Kiss of the Dragon (2001) and Unleashed (2005). He co-starred in The One (2001) and War (2007) with Jason Statham, The Forbidden Kingdom (2008) with Jackie Chan, all three of The Expendables films with Sylvester Stallone, and as the title character villain in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008).
In many ways, Jet Li inspired Keanu Reeves, who has also consistently delivered many entertaining gun-fu fighting scenes. With a commitment to performing many of his own stunts, Reeves continues to influence the genre, delivering adrenaline-pumping thrills and leaving a lasting impression on the world of action cinema.
Source: Far Out Magazine
