Summary
- Ares, Zero, and Avi bring unique personalities to the John Wick franchise, making them stand out despite their limited screen time.
- Koji, the Director, and Marcus add depth to John’s story, providing the emotional core of the franchise.
- Characters like Killa, Cassian, and Ernest contribute to the rich and inventive fight scenes that make the John Wick movies so captivating.
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Keanu Reeves is the star of the John Wick franchise, but each movie introduces a new crop of interesting side characters, some of whom steal the spotlight during their limited time on screen. The world of John Wick features a seemingly never-ending cast of brutal crime lords and eccentric assassins. As the franchise has developed, some of these characters have become bigger and brasher than before.
After the death of John at the end of John Wick: Chapter 4, the franchise may be tempted to look for a new star. Luckily, John Wick 5 could rely on some of the interesting characters who have already appeared in previous movies. Even though they didn’t last for very long, some of John Wick‘s best characters made the most of their time on screen, and many of them could be welcomed back in future sequels of spinoffs.
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10 Ares
Played by Ruby Rose in John Wick: Chapter 2
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Although she isn’t the deadliest assassin in the John Wick franchise, Ares has enough distinguishing features to ensure that she stands out from the crowd. She is the personal bodyguard to Santino D’Antonio, which means that she fights John multiple times. Despite their work pitting them against each other, John and Ares develop a mutual respect, which is aided by the fact that John is one of only a few people who can speak sign language to her.
Ares has a lot more in common with John than she does with Santino or any of the other people she usually works with, but they are forced to fight to the death.
Ares has a lot more in common with John than she does with Santino or any of the other people she usually works with, but they are forced to fight to the death. In the same way that Caine’s blindness is an important part of his character, Ares’ muteness is more than a meaningless gimmick. It limits who she can communicate with, and it colors people’s perceptions of her immediately.
9 Zero
Played by Mark Dacascos in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
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Martial arts legend Mark Dacascos brought his considerable action pedigree to John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, but his role also gives him a chance to show off his underrated comedy chops. Zero is an assassin who idolizes John Wick, which makes for a refreshing change of pace from other villains in the franchise who are afraid of John’s reputation. He is sporting enough to congratulate John when he is defeated.
Martial arts legend Mark Dacascos brought his considerable action pedigree to John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, but his role also gives him a chance to show off his underrated comedy chops.
Zero’s arrival marked a shift toward more entertaining, off-the-wall villains, but he is worth far more than his humorous side. Tasked with eliminating John and everyone who helps him on his journey, Zero represents the brutal consequences of John’s action. While John may be comfortable risking his own life to take revenge on the High Table, he is suddenly forced to bear the burden of responsibility for others in his life, as Zero tracks down the Bowery King and the Director.
8 Avi
Played by Dean Winters in John Wick
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Avi is Viggo Tarosov’s right-hand man. He’s his closest confidante and ally, but their imbalanced power dynamic means they stop just shy of being friends. Avi is frequently sent to do Viggo’s dirty work, even when this includes trying to kill John Wick. It’s unclear how someone like Avi became so close to Viggo, because they don’t seem like a natural fit with one another, but he is fiercely loyal.
In a franchise packed with emotionless goons and cold-blooded assassins, Avi is one of a handful of characters who lets his emotions rise to the surface.
Avi provides a lot of comic relief in John Wick. In a franchise packed with emotionless goons and cold-blooded assassins, he is one of a handful of characters who lets his emotions rise to the surface. He seems to be the only person who reacts with the appropriate amount of fear when he has to face up to John. The difference between him and the rest of Viggo’s henchmen is what makes him so funny.
7 Koji Shimazu
Played by Hiroyuki Sanada in John Wick: Chapter 4
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Koji Shimazu is the manager of the Osaka Continental, and he’s also one of John Wick’s oldest friends. His character provides another glimpse into John’s past as an assassin, just like Caine and Marcus. John knows that he can trust Koji when he has nobody else to turn to in his time of need, and Koji repays his faith by preparing his hotel for a showdown with the High Table, even though it puts him in mortal danger.
Koji’s sword fight with Caine is a gripping action scene, but it’s also laden with emotion in a way that most John Wick fights aren’t.
Koji’s sword fight with Caine is a gripping action scene, but it’s also laden with emotion in a way that most John Wick fights aren’t. Koji knows that he doesn’t have a very good chance against Caine, but he enters battle knowing that he can repay the debt he owes John and keep his daughter safe at the same time. Even when he is given the opportunity to quit, he fights on to the bitter end.
6 Akira Shimazu
Played by Rina Sawayama in John Wick: Chapter 4
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Akira is Koji’s daughter, and she takes on a lot of responsibility at the Continental. After his death, she sets out to seek revenge on Caine. John Wick: Chapter 4‘s ending shows Akira approaching Caine with a knife. As the franchise faces an uncertain future, she could be the face of John Wick 5 if Keanu Reeves doesn’t return. She’s a deadly assassin with an interesting backstory, and she’s entering a new era in her life after Koji’s death.
Akira is key to the raid at the Osaka Continental, which is arguably the best fight scene in the entire John Wick franchise.
Akira is just as capable at hand-to-hand combat as she is with a bow, which means that she has several outstanding fight scenes despite not being a main character. She’s also key to the raid at the Osaka Continental, which is arguably the best fight scene in the entire John Wick franchise. At first, Akira just wants to stick diligently to her task as the Continetal’s concierge, but she realizes that she can’t ignore the real world.
5 The Director
Played by Angelica Huston in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
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Angelica Huston is perfectly cast as the Director, the head of the Ruska Roma who acts as a mother figure to John. She reveals more about his mysterious past than any other character. He’s still a riddle, but it’s now confirmed that his birth name was Jardani Jovonovich, and that he grew up in the Soviet Union where he received training for every skill that was needed to make him a world-class hitman.
Angelica Huston has the appropriate sense of gravitas to play the head of a global crime syndicate, but she also has a tender emotionality to her performance.
Angelica Huston has the appropriate sense of gravitas to play the head of a global crime syndicate, but she also has a tender emotionality to her performance. The Director is John’s former employer, but their relationship is much more complicated than that, and she wishes for him to return to the family despite his mysterious past transgressions. Fortunately, Huston is set to reprise her role in the John Wick spinoff, Ballerina, which stars Ana de Armas.
4 Cassian
Played by Common in John Wick: Chapter 2
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Cassian is Gianni’s bodyguard, and although he fails to stop John from getting to her in time, he sticks to his task and seeks revenge. John’s battle with Cassian produces some brilliant action scenes in John Wick: Chapter 2. The knife fight on the subway is one eye-catching example, but their fight with silenced pistols in a crowded station shortly beforehand is just as gripping for different reasons.
John and Cassian’s knife fight on the subway is an eye-catching scene, but their fight with silenced pistols in a crowded station shortly beforehand is just as gripping for different reasons.
Although they are forced to fight one another by circumstance, Cassian and John’s conversation in the Continental bar shows that they could have been friends in another life. John spares Cassian’s life as a professional courtesy, but he does so with a stern warning to back off for good. Cassian is one of a few assassins who feasibly could have made a return in subsequent sequels.
3 Marcus
Played by Willem Dafoe in John Wick
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Despite retiring from his life as an assassin, John Wick maintains a lot of friendships from his past. Marcus is a fellow assassin who watches over John when he decides to go to war with the Tarasov crime family. Marcus is described as John’s mentor in the criminal underworld, but the details of their past relationship remain agonizingly out of reach throughout John Wick.
Marcus is described as John’s mentor in the criminal underworld, but the details of their past relationship remain agonizingly out of reach.
Viggo Tarasov hires Marcus to kill John, but Marcus instead decides to help him from a distance. He’s an expert sniper, and this means he can act as John’s guardian angel, saving his life from both Ms. Perkins and Kirill. His eventual death is another blow to John, who has already lost his wife and his puppy. From this point on, John has nothing that anyone can use against him.
2 Ernest
Played by Boban Marjanović in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
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Part of the joy of the John Wick franchise is the sheer inventiveness of each new fight scene. Some of the best John Wick fight scenes make perfect use of the actors stepping in as John’s opponents, like Scott Adkins’ nightclub fight in Chapter 4 or Yama’s showdown in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 – Parabellum pits John against Ernest, the hulking brute played by NBA star Boban Marjanović.
Ernest is big enough to grab John’s head as if he’s palming a basketball, and the narrow aisles of the New York Public Library mean that he has plenty of walls to bounce him off of.
Ernest is big enough to grab John’s head as if he’s palming a basketball, and the narrow aisles of the New York Public Library mean that he has plenty of walls to bounce him off of. Boban Marjanović is the joint-tallest player currently in the NBA, so Ernest is probably the most physically intimidating opponent John has ever had to face. However, he shows in his limited screen time that he has some hidden layers to him, as he quotes from Dante before pummeling John into the ground.
1 Killa Harkan
Played by Scott Adkins in John Wick: Chapter 4
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Scott Adkins was a breath of fresh air in John Wick: Chapter 4 as Killa Harkan, the German mob boss who operates a neon-soaked nightclub in Berlin. John has to kill Killa to regain his place with the Ruska Roma, but he is initially brought to Himmel und Hölle under the guise of being a peace offering for Killa. Adkins plays Killa with a blend of humor and genuine menace.
Killa is a completely different kind of character to most other John Wick villains. His big personality and his flair for the dramatic make him much more alluring in his short time on screen.
Killa is a completely different kind of character to most other John Wick villains. His big personality and his flair for the dramatic make him much more alluring in his short time on screen. Killa plays up to his guests at the poker table, but he also stands up to John in a fight. Although John ultimately kills Killa, the character could live on in spirit if the John Wick franchise trends toward more outlandish villains in future sequels and spinoffs.