Watch: Keanu Reeves praises Ana de Armas' 'Ballerina' training

UPI

a day ago

May 30 (UPI) -- Lionsgate released a behind-the-scenes video on Ballerina on Friday. The film opens Wednesday in large format screens and June 6 everywhere.
Keanu Reeves, who executive produces and reprises his role as John Wick, speaks over footage of Ana de Armas practicing fight choreography.
"Ana's a wonderful actress, so talented and there's really not anything she can't do," Reeves says. "To see her shift into her next gear was really cool. She's like, 'Let's go.'"
Some of the behind-the-scenes footage shows Reeves and de Armas practicing a knife fight. She plays Eve, a woman training at the Ruska Roma ballet/assassin school that also taught John.
"If I am disciplined, I can get there," de Armas says. "I'm actually surprised that I came out of it in one piece."
John Wick director Chad Stahelski also produces the spinoff. He speaks over footage of de Armas shooting an enemy while being pushed in a T-boned car.
"We have a practical aesthetic that we try to apply," Stahelski said. "We need somebody to actually be performing that so when you have someone like Ana de Armas, the sky's the limit. How far can we push to give you that visceralness?"
UPI will present our review of Ballerina and interviews with the cast next week.