Chad Stahelski
American stuntman, choreographer and director, student and instructor of Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto, co-founder of 87Eleven and director of the John Wick film series.
Quick Facts
United StatesBiography
Chad Stahelski is an American stuntman, fight choreographer and director. He was born on 20 September 1968 in Palmer, Massachusetts, and studied at the University of Southern California.
He trained Jeet Kune Do under Dan Inosanto at the Inosanto Academy in Los Angeles, where he also trained with Brandon Lee, and became an instructor there. He competed in kickboxing and mixed martial arts; in 1993 he was among the first Americans to compete in Shooto, and lost to Manabu Yamada.
He was Brandon Lee's stunt double in the film The Crow (1994) and after Lee's death finished the shooting in his place. In 1997 he co-founded the stunt company 87Eleven with David Leitch. In the film The Matrix (1999) he was Keanu Reeves's key stunt double, and in 2003 he coordinated the fight scenes of the films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
He co-directed the film John Wick (2014) with Leitch. They chose long uninterrupted takes with a wide view of the action, to which the budget for a single camera also led them. With coordinator J. J. Perry and members of 87Eleven he developed a fighting system combining grappling arts with shooting: the left hand restrains the opponent's limbs, the right stays free for the weapon. Keanu Reeves prepared for the role for four months at 87Eleven in judo, Japanese jujutsu, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and arnis. Stahelski then directed on his own John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and Chapter 4 (2023). In February 2024 Lionsgate put him in charge of overseeing the John Wick and Highlander franchises.
Teachers, students and family
Associated Martial Arts
Filmography
A screen role does not mean the person actually practises the art — that is listed above.