Chad Stahelski jokingly advised Scott Adkins not to mess up his character in John Wick: Chapter 4.

The English action man and martial artist asked the director to be involved in his high-octane assassin franchise and his wish finally came true with Chapter 4.

However, the role came with a catch – Adkins had to spend three-and-a-half hours in the make-up chair before the shoot and an hour after every day to physically transform into Killa, a large crime boss who shares a common enemy with Keanu Reeves’ John Wick.

In an interview with Cover Media at the film’s recent London premiere, Adkins shared the advice Stahelski gave him for Killa.

“The pressure was on my shoulders to make sure I didn’t mess it up,” he explained. “I said to Chad at dinner, ‘Got any advice?’, you know, talking about the character, and he pretty much said to me: ‘My advice to you, if I was in your position, I would just make sure I didn’t f**k it up.’ (I said), ‘OK, Chad, I get you mate’… the best advice he could have given me.”

Adkins admitted fighting in the heavy fatsuit was challenging and the character’s finished look was a “leap of faith” for the whole team.

“You’re not sure if it’s gonna work. I think there was a little bit of trepidation with the studio as well to be honest, like, ‘Do we really need to do this fatsuit thing? Is it really going to work?'” he commented.

John Wick: Chapter 4, also starring Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, and Donnie Yen, hits cinemas on 24 March.

© Cover Media