‘Was always amazed by actors doing their own stunts’

New Delhi: Hiroyuki Sanada is an actor par excellence when it comes to the action genre and the Japanese star says he intends to continue doing his own stunts till the very end.

Sanada has been an integral part of some of the best action movies of the past two decades, including titles such as "The Last Samurai", "The Wolverine", "Rush Hour 3", "Mortal Kombat" and most recently "Bullet Train".

The actor, who was born in Tokyo, said he was fascinated by Hollywood and European action movies from a very young age.

"Before I started doing action, I was a child actor, starting at the age of five. I was a weak kid. I watched all those Hollywood and European action movies. I was always amazed by actors doing their own stunts. When I was 10, I thought that action was the best service to the audience. Then I started training myself, as well as dancing and singing, horse-riding, martial arts and sword fighting," Sanada told PTI in a virtual interview.

At 62, the actor said he has no plans to stop doing action in movies.

"Usually, action stars stop fighting or doing action stuff at some point. Maybe if I was young, I would want to do something that is normal, easy and simple. I would like to continue if the director or the script asked me, I want to do everything myself until the end. That's why I'm doing this till date."

Sanada currently stars in "John Wick: Chapter 4", which released in Indian theatres on Friday.

In the fourth instalment of the action franchise, the actor plays the role of Shimazu Koji, an old friend of the titular assassin, played by Hollywood star Keanu Reeves.

Sanada previously worked with Reeves in the 2013 fantasy action movie "47 Ronin".

"When Chad (director Chad Stahelski) called me, he said he has a role for me. He's an old friend of Keanu. I thought 'Oh my goodness!' I worked with him (Reeves) a long time ago. I could put my real feeling into the role and create the chemistry on set," he said, adding that it took him some time to get used to the action template of the popular movie series.

His most important scene, the actor said, was with fellow action star Donnie Yen, who plays the role of Caine, a blind assassin in "John Wick: Chapter 4".

"My most important fight was with Donnie. We have almost grown up together, like brothers. We had to fight, even though we didn't want to. I tried to understand the dramatic theme first and not just focus on action. Why do they have to fight? Or how they feel when they fight? How do they feel after fighting? "Those things were the most important. So, we discussed a lot, me and Donnie. With every take, Donnie and I discussed ideas. Chad enjoyed our discussions and gave us a great playground. It was all so smooth, easy and fun that after every fight scene, we would do a high five," Sanada added.

"John Wick: Chapter 4" also stars Ian McShane, Bill Skarsgard, Laurence Fishburne, Shamier Anderson and Rina Sawayama.

The Lionsgate movie will also feature Lance Reddick, who passed away last week at the age of 60.