Fire Hose Fury: How Stunt Coordinator Stephen Dunlevy Helped Ana de Armas Blast her Own Path in “Ballerina”
Steeped in the lore and rituals of the John Wick universe, director Len Wiseman’s From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is a bold attempt at expanding the franchise that put practical action back in the spotlight after the OG John Wick came out in 2014. Taking place somewhere between the third and fourth Wick films, this cortisol-triggering revenge thriller follows Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas), a younger member of the Ruska Roma, where John himself (Keanu Reeves, reprising his iconic role) was trained years before he became the much-revered Baba Yaga. As she embarks on her first contract killing mission, she encounters the cult that killed her father 12 years ago. Hellbent on revenge, her quest soon leads to the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne), who leads a rival assassin tribe hiding in the Alpine village of Hallstatt.
Continuing in the neon-drenched ass-kicking tradition of John Wick action, there is no shortage of gun-fu, savage triangle chokes and roundhouse kicks, grenade-fu, and all manner of carnage. A veteran of the last three Wick films, supervising stunt coordinator Stephen Dunlevy rejoins the Wick family with franchise co-creator Chad Stahelski serving as producer (with his action design company, 87Eleven) and stunt coordinator Jackson Spidell, who doubled for Keanu Reeves in the first three Wick films.
We spoke to Dunlevy about helping turn Armas’s seething newcomer to the world of Wick into a one-woman wrecking ball.
Newcomer Eve Macarro fits into the labyrinthine world of the Ruska Roma and the John Wick realm very well. Charting through the four John Wick films (so far), where does her story fall in the timeline?
Ballerina was in development while John Wick: Chapter 4 was shooting. So, we didn’t want to give away any spoilers. They decided that between John Wick 3 and 4 is the best place. Having John Wick in Ballerina gives it that level of authenticity – he’s passing the torch to Eve. And having Keanu in this film gives it that cherry on top.
The opening sequence scars Eve forever—her father dies protecting her from the Chancellor’s men.
We found a really cool location in Hungary where they were staying, a former palace. When the guys attacking them emerge from the water, which was shot in Croatia, it was tough dealing with the tides. I love that sequence because we’re building her backstory. Our fight coordinator, Jeremy Marinas, did a really good job of establishing a throughline of the fights to see Eve’s development and where she comes from. Trying to save her father that day is the foundation of who she is. So, we needed that fight to resonate through the series. Being the first fight in the film, we also wanted it to be a fun nod to the John Wick films, so we go from crossbows to handguns to hatchets.
Eve’s first official mission at the club feels like a nod to the Red Circle fight in the first John Wick, right?
Yeah, a little bit.
Being a spinoff in such a beloved franchise that has set so many benchmarks in action cinema is especially tough. How do you manage the delicate balance between paying homage to it and trying to top it with fresh ideas?
As soon as that coin came out in the first John Wick, you’ve created this amazing world that we’ve barely scratched the surface of. There are so many stories to tell that we don’t have to trip over ourselves trying to top the previous films. With Eve, we get to expand on what we saw in a fraction of the Wick films. The ballerina training at the Ruska Roma gives her the physical agility and mental toughness. She falls down and keeps getting back up until she gets it right. We see where John Wick comes from and develop this new character. Eve has to work it out on her own and build her own skills. People who train in the same gym come up with different styles and different ways to do things because they work better for them. Because of what Ana brings to it and what we developed as we were training with her, we discovered new things. Part of it is found weapons in the Wick world, whether it’s a pencil, a grenade, or ice skates, there are so many things she can fight with.
The ice skates were cool! And she also uses a hammer at one point.
It was! When she fights in the kitchen, there were pots and pans and axes. It’s everything.
[Spoiler] When Eve fights John in Hallstatt, it is an important moment for the franchise because he passes the baton to her. There are crucial character elements as well—he lets her live at least three times by my count.
Absolutely. And you notice he doesn’t pull his gun in the beginning. When she draws her gun, he just goes for his [bulletproof] vest to block the bullets. Every time he lets her up, she keeps attacking him. We went through different iterations of who was winning until we found the best balance between both worlds. Of all the fights, that was probably the hardest, trying to find that sweet spot. Jackson, [fight coordinator] Caleb [Spillyards], and our team worked relentlessly on trying to find that balance.
Since John Wick is the legendary hitman who is virtually unstoppable, how do you balance his level of prowess against a first-timer like Eve?
You have this delicate balance since we couldn’t have Eve beating up John. There was no world where the younger, inexperienced assassin was suddenly going to beat John up. So, we came up with the idea for him to give her the opportunity [to live], but you see her stubbornness and her relentless need to avenge her father’s death. We’ve all seen how good John is. Eve is young and raw; she runs on aggression and this need for revenge, whereas John’s style is more practiced and controlled.
Eve’s fighting style has to stay true to the world of John Wick, not only because the Ruska Roma also trains her, but to keep diehard Wick fans happy. How is her fighting style different from John’s, and what does it reveal about her character?
John Wick is six feet, 180 pounds, and a male who’s physically stronger. Eve is 5’7” and a lot lighter. You can have different fighters training in the same gym and the same style, but they’re all going to lean towards different aspects. What Eve takes away from the training and her abilities is going to be different from John’s. Since she is younger and raw, we wanted to showcase the development of her abilities. As a smaller, lighter person, she’s going to have to move faster and differently; she has to be a little smarter in terms of her environment. What keeps her alive is her ability to read a situation and quickly adapt. There are elements that overlap, but Eve’s style is definitely a little different.
Check out part two to find out how Dunlevy helped film the dueling flamethrower sequence practically and how the epic grenade-fu came about.
From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is playing in theaters nationwide.
Featured image: Ana de Armas as Eve and Robert Masser as Dex in Ballerina. Photo Credit: Murray Close
