Honestly, when you think of any great action hero or any great hero out there or great character actor, you kind of transcend the character. You just don't love the character, you love the guy. In any of the great action stars, you see the guy doing the work.

Character imperfection is the important thing to keep them from being superheroes.

Keanu and I were in New York, I was prepping John Wick 2. And when Keanu [Reeves], [writer] Derek Kolstad, and myself sat down and wrote the character, it was completely, one hundred percent based on Laurence Fishburne. Like, in my head I saw this guy.

I consider Laurence [Fishburn], Keanu [Reeves], both very acclaimed actors, I mean so good.

Laurence [Fishburn] helped redo some of the dialogue [in John Wick 2], he and Keanu [Reeves] workshopped it. And he couldn't have been more respectful couldn't have been more brilliant on set. I said, "look, I'm gonna have to work you a little bit here cause I only get you for three days." He never left set, was always engaging, always working on his lines, it was awesome.

Laurence [Fishburne] is a great example of how to communicate to the audience as you're acting with another actor.

When I first met Laurence I was Keanu's [Reeves] stunt double on the first Matrix. So, a little evolution there with career status. But then cut to the thirteen/fourteen years later where now I'm asking Laurence Fishburne to trust my directorial capacity [in John Wick 2].