Kevin Nash's Small Part In The Original 'John Wick' Movie, Revisited
Emma Terry 
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There have been many wrestlers who have turned to acting, with a few finding mega success like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, John Cena, and Dave Bautista. Though Kevin Nash hasn't quite reached the heights of those men, he's carved out his own acting legacy, with roles such as Super Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, and parts in both Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL. He also had the fortune of being in the first film of what has become Hollywood's hottest action franchise, John Wick.
Kevin Nash's Role In 'John Wick' Is Small But Pivotal
John Wick wowed fans when it hit theaters in 2014. Its brand of uber violence was almost like art, leaving audiences in awe. Actor Keanu Reeves played the titular character, a hitman coming out of retirement to kill those responsible in a Russian mob who killed his dog, a gift given to him by his wife before she died.
Kevin Nash plays Francis, a Russian bouncer at a nightclub called The Red Circle. He also works for the crime boss. When Wick shows up at the club, Francis is outside. Wick puts a gun to the back of his head. Speaking both in Russian and in English with a thick Russian accent, Nash was impressive and convincing in his portrayal. Wick compliments the man on his weight loss, before Francis asks Wick, "Are you here on business, sir?" "I'm afraid so, Francis," Wick responds. "Why don't you take the night off." With that, Francis looks at Wick, says, "Thank you, sir," and walks away.
The scene is short but important. The John Wick films are a bloodbath. Bad guys die by the dozens at Wick's hands, but here he lets someone live. He respects Francis, and he is no threat, so he gives the man an out.
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Kevin Nash Speaks On How Impressed He Was By Keanu Reeves
A few months ago, in his Kliq This podcast, Kevin Nash spoke about what it was like to meet Keanu Reeves with his co-host, Sean Oliver. "I'm walking out of wardrobe and I'm walking down this hallway... and I see this guy... and he's got a coat on and his boots are untied. It's Keanu. So he's walking towards me and I'm walking towards him, you know, and I don't wanna be a mark, but he gets closer, he goes, 'Must be Francis.' I said, 'Yeah, I am.' I guess we stopped, had just two seconds that you know, hey, got in the elevator.
"Next night we're shooting, it like f***ing one in the morning... it's like 16 degrees below zero, and they blocked me, they get me ready for the f***ing shot, and they go, 'Keanu,' and this guy that kind of, you know, not really imposing or anything, that walked down the hallway, this motherf***er comes out, he's got a little tiny bottle of Coca-Cola, f***ing cigarette." Nash stopped to pose like Wick. "I'm like, Jesus, you talk about somebody who's just presence... he was John f***ing Wick. That was not Keanu, that was John Wick. You could just see that transformation. All of a sudden it wasn't cold, I didn't give a f***, I was just like, 'Wow.'"
For Kevin Nash, who has worked with so many big wrestlers and acted with so many big movie actors, to be starstruck by Keanu Reeves as John Wick just goes to show what a powerful character Reeves had created. Nash's character of Francis would be lucky to live in that film but, alas, he was never brought back for any sequels.
