Chad Stahelski (born September 20, 1968) is an American stuntman and film director. He is known for directing the 2014 film ''

John Wick ''John Wick'' is an American action thriller media franchise created by Derek Kolstad and centering around John Wick, a former hitman who is forced back into the criminal underworld he had abandoned. The franchise began with the release of '' ...

'' and directing its three sequels. Stahelski also doubled for

Brandon Lee Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor and martial artist. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the dark fantasy film '' T ...

after the fatal accident involving Lee on the set of ''

The Crow The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...

'' (1994) and replaced Lee in the film. He has worked as a

stunt coordinator A stunt coordinator, usually an experienced stunt performer, is hired by a TV, film or theatre director or production company for stunt casting. Their job is to arrange the casting (stunt players and stunt doubles) and performance of stunts for a ...

and

second unit director Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...

on several films.

Career

Stahelski worked on

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films '' The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ...

' ''

'' (1994). Stahelski and fellow stuntman Jeff Cadiente served as stand-ins for the actor

. Previously on March 31, 1993, while filming'','' Lee was accidentally wounded on set by defective blank ammunition and later died in hospital during surgery.

Special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wo ...

were used to give them Lee's face. Their work paved the way for resurrecting actors to complete or have new performances, since pioneering CGI techniques were used to complete the film. In 1997, Stahelski co-founded action design company 87Eleven with

David Leitch David Leitch (born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, actor, stunt performer and stunt coordinator who made his directorial debut on the 2014 action film ''John Wick'' with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. Leitch the ...

. He worked as a stunt double for his future ''

'' star Keanu Reeves in ''The Matrix'' franchise, and later served as a stunt co-ordinator for the films. In 2009, Stahelski was second-unit director and stunt co-ordinator on ''

Ninja Assassin ''Ninja Assassin'' is a 2009 neo-noir martial arts film directed by James McTeigue. The story was written by Matthew Sand, with a screenplay by J. Michael Straczynski. The film stars South Korean pop musician Rain as a disillusioned assassin ...

'' along with David Leitch. In 2012, on the set of the film ''

The Expendables 2 ''The Expendables 2'' is a 2012 American action film directed by Simon West, written by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone and based on a story by Ken Kaufman, David Agosto and Wenk. Brian Tyler returned to score the film. It is the sequel to ...

'' for which Stahelski served as stunt coordinator, stuntman Kun Liu was killed by an explosion on set. Liu's family sued Stahelski following the accident. In 2014, Stahelski co-directed the action thriller film ''

'' along with Leitch, based on the screenplay by

Derek Kolstad Derek Kolstad (born April 4, 1974) is an American screenwriter and film producer. He is the creator of the ''John Wick'' franchise, which began in 2014. He continued to write for the first two sequels of the franchise and is mainly known as a s ...

. The film starred Keanu Reeves and

Michael Nyqvist Rolf Åke Mikael Nyqvist (; 8 November 1960 – 27 June 2017) was a Swedish actor. Educated at the School of Drama in Malmö, he became well known for playing police officer Banck in the 1997–1998 Martin Beck TV series and for his leading ro ...

, and was released on October 24, 2014 by

Summit Entertainment Summit Entertainment is an American film production and distribution company. It is a label of Lionsgate Films, owned by Lionsgate Entertainment and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. History Independent era (1991–2012) Summit ...

, grossing over $88 million. Stahelski acted as sole director for the film's 2017 sequel, '' John Wick: Chapter 2'', and again for the third film, '' John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum'' (2019). In 2019, Stahelski was the second unit director for the reshoots of ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predat ...

''.

Upcoming work

In November 2017, he was signed on to the reboot of the ''Highlander'' franchise, which he committed to making a trilogy of, ending with "The Gathering" of the immortals. It would be similar in thematic development with the original ''Star Wars'' trilogy, and similar to ''John Wick'' action, but with swords replacing gun-play. The reboot trilogy would still include the iconic music by Queen. In December 2017, it was announced that Stahelski would be directing a film adaptation of the comic book '' Kill or Be Killed''. In February 2018, it was announced that Stahelski would be directing a film adaptation of the '' Sandman Slim'' novels. In May 2018, Stahelski was announced as director of ''Analog''. In May 2019, Stahelski was confirmed to be directing '' John Wick: Chapter 4'', which is set for release on March 24, 2023. In March 2021, it was announced that Stahelski would direct a film adaptation of ''

Ghost of Tsushima ''Ghost of Tsushima'' is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Sucker Punch Productions and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The player controls Jin Sakai, samurai on a quest to protect Tsushima Island during the first Mongo ...

''.

Personal life

Stahelski was married to fellow stunt performer Heidi Moneymaker, who worked as Scarlett Johansson's double as Black Widow. She also appeared on Stahelski's film '' John Wick: Chapter 2''. Stahelski and Heidi Moneymaker have been divorced since 2018. Stahelski was a friend of

. They trained together at the Inosanto Academy.

Filmography

Second-unit director Stuntwork Actor

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stahelski, Chad 1968 births Living people American people of Polish descent American film directors American stunt performers American Jeet Kune Do practitioners American male kickboxers American male film actors Place of birth missing (living people) American film producers Action film directors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors