John Wick 4 Director Chad Stahleski Took An Unconventional Route To Cast Rina Sawayama
At the start of 2023, Rina Sawayama was known to the world as a pretty successful pop star, having released her sophomore album "Hold the Girl" the year prior. With millions of streams and several hit songs under her belt, Sawayama has a career just about anyone in entertainment would be envious of. Now, however, she's gotten to add action star to her resume. And not just any action star, but one who got to be in a bonafide, kick-ass blockbuster in the form of "John Wick: Chapter 4." Moreover, it was actually her music that landed her the gig, albeit in a roundabout way.
When director Chad Stahelski wrote the role of Akira into "John Wick: Chapter 4," he did so without a specific actor in mind. Given that the character is pretty significant to the story (and possibly the future of the franchise), it was important to get this one nailed down. Speaking to BuzzFeed, the filmmaker explained how he came across Sawayama, which led to a remarkably quick casting process:
"Well we were looking to cast Akira, we'd written that part and we were on the hunt for someone. Late one night in Berlin, I was just going through YouTube and I just literally typed in 'Japanese pop star,' I swear to God. There was a music video of Rina and she had this orange wig on, and I just thought she had a really interesting look. The way she moved and how her face changed in different angles, there was something about her I just really dug. A day later we had her on a Zoom call going, 'Hey, how would you like to be in a 'John Wick' movie?'"
From pop star to action star
It's not as though pop stars making the jump from music to movies is anything new, as it's been happening for decades. Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, Cher, Barbara Streisand, Lady Gaga — the list goes on and on. All of them started in music and went on to have hugely successful on-screen careers. But none of them benefitted quite like Rina Sawayama, who managed to show up in a YouTube search thanks to her music career, catching Chad Stahelski's attention in a happy accident. It's one heck of a way to break into Hollywood, that's for sure.
It's certainly worth saying that not every pop star turned actor has done a phenomenal job when they step up to the plate. That having been said, it would be hard to argue against what Sawayama does alongside the likes of Keanu Reeves and Donnie Yen in "John Wick: Chapter 4." She absolutely holds her own in some truly ridiculous action sequences from the premiere action franchise in modern Hollywood. That's no easy thing to do, but she did it very well. So it's fortunate for Stahelski and all involved that his YouTube search proved to be as fruitful as it did.
"John Wick: Chapter 4" is currently in theaters, but will start making its way onto the home market near the end of May.