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EXCLUSIVE: Shamier Anderson Says It Was “Surreal” Working Alongside His Wing Chun Hero Donnie Yen In ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’

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With each installment in the John Wick franchise, we meet a new set of assassins looking to take out the boogeyman, aka John Wick (Keanu Reeves). In John Wick: Chapter 4, the titular character now has the Tracker (Shamier Anderson) looking to wipe him out and cash in on the large bounty on Wick’s head.

In John Wick: Chapter 4, our favorite hitman is tired of hiding and is ready to bring the pain to the High Table, the underground secret organization he used to carry out hits for. Following his actions in the previous films, he is a wanted man. An enormous bounty is put on his head, and a new powerful enemy with powerful alliances stretching across the globe will turn John’s friends into enemies.

John Wick: Chapter 4

Source: Lionsgate / John Wick: Chapter 4

Alongside his “emotional support” dog, The Tracker is one of the many assassins tasked with the hard job of taking out John Wick. He also has to compete with Caine, a man who considers John Wick a friend played by the legendary action star Donnie Yen.

Shamier Anderson Talks Being A Trained Martial Artist

Speaking exclusively with CASSIUS Life, Shamier Anderson, also a trained martial artist in Wing Chun Kung Fu, talked about working alongside Donnie Yen, who happens to be a Wing Chun master whose skills have been on full display in his Ip Man films. Anderson gushed about being a “massive” fan of those films and getting to work alongside Yen in John Wick: Chapter 4.

…when that movie came out, that was obviously like, ‘whoa.’

“I’m a big fan of the Ip Man films, the Ip Man franchise,” Anderson begins. “I mean, I was doing Wing Chun before that movie came out. I [have] been doing Wing Chun for 15 years. So when that movie came out, that was obviously like, whoa.”

Anderson Says It Was Surreal Working Alongside His Wing Chun Hero Donnie Yen

John Wick: Chapter 4

Source: Lionsgate / John Wick: Chapter 4

Anderson further explained that upon learning that he was proficient in Wing Chun Kung Fu, Yen decided to see if he was about that life, even breaking out the terminology when asking to show Yen Wing Chun forms.

“And then I told Donnie, and Donnie’s like any Samurai or martial art OG, he’s like, I do this. They’re always giving that side eye of like, hmm, really? Huh? You really do that, huh?” he continues. “I’m like, “Yeah, that’s me, man. I really do it.” They’re like, oh, okay, whatever. And then I was spitting some terminology. I’m like, “Yo, you want to see my Siu Nim Tau? You want to see my Chum Kiu, my Biu Jee, my Muk Jong?” Like, what do you want to know? I’ll show you my Huen Sao.”

…it was definitely surreal to meet one of my Wing Chun heroes and obviously a grand master as I see him in my eyes

Anderson continues, “I was talking about all that stuff, and he’s just like, “Okay, you know what’s up?” He thought I was Chinese for a minute. I’m like, “Nah, nah, just Canadian.” But yeah, we did a bit of stuff, and I did not do Chi Sau with him. And Chi Sau is just this exercise that happens in Wing Chun because I was scared for my life. I’m not going to go toe to toe with Donnie Yen for obvious reasons, but he respected me, and I definitely have a respect for him. But yeah, it was definitely surreal to meet one of my Wing Chun heroes and obviously a grand master as I see him in my eyes.”

Shamier Anderson Wants To Take Out His Enemies With Love or His Trusty Canine Sidekick

John Wick: Chapter 4

Source: Lionsgate / John Wick: Chapter 4

We also asked Anderson if his character could take out a target with an inanimate object like a pencil or a book, as John Wick did. What would he choose to use? He chose to kill his enemies with love in real life, and in the film, his trusty sidekick, Hound.

Man, I don’t want to take out anybody. I would do it with love, in my opinion. With love, bro, I don’t take out anybody, ” Anderson said. “However, in the movie, I would use my dog. That’s my secret weapon. In real life, I ain’t taking out anybody. I’ll shake your hand and say, “Let’s sit down and have a conversation,” and ask why you’re so mad. Let’s talk about it.”

You can watch our entire interview above, where Anderson also talks about learning the “Gun Fu” choreography and which accessory from the film he would use in real life.

John Wick: Chapter 4 arrives in theaters March 24.