Jonathan Groff is hailing Keanu Reeves as the king of action.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter about “The Matrix Resurrections”, the star gushed over working with Reeves on the film.
“He was there training and getting ready before all of us got there. My first day in the training tent, Keanu was in his jiu-jitsu outfit doing kicks and punches. I mean, he really sets the bar for all of us in the training,” he shared. “When the fight was happening, I also really wanted to be able to be present and to be trading energy back and forth with Keanu as Neo. I didn’t want to be focusing on the moves. I wanted to know it so well so I could actually play it.”
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It was an experience that made Groff realize that Reeves was truly a master of his craft.
“It was so exciting to be doing such extraordinary fight choreography with the greatest action star of our time and someone that’s so devoted to their craft,” he added. “I really tried to take in every single moment of getting to be with Keanu and I learned so much from working with him. It’s an experience I’ll hold in my heart for the rest of my life.”
The 36-year-old actor is perhaps best known for his roles in musicals like the Broadway hit Hamilton and Netflix’s “Mindhunter”, which don’t require a lot of action finesse on his part. Taking on the iconic role of Agent Smith in the new film, including all the action scenes, left Groff a little nervous.
Luckily for him, he had a great scene partner in Reeves.
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“And Keanu, he knew that I had not trained a lot in fighting before this. I’d never done a fight scene before. But he really gave me so much trust and it made me want to rise to meet the level of trust that he had when he fought with me,” said Groff. “There were moments where I just slammed his face into a wall and he was so down and so game. So it really forced me to want to raise my game and really keep him safe and really sell the scene.”
He also confirmed the “John Wick” actor’s reputation of being a great guy and enthusiastic about every role.
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“This guy really does it because he loves to do it, and I also got so much joy out of just doing it whether or not the cameras were rolling. So it was a moment I’ll never forget,” concluded Groff.
“The Matrix Resurrections” is out now in theatres and streaming on HBO Max.