Keanu Reeves' Stunt Agony

The stunt experience Keanu Reeves picked up shooting The Matrix proved to
be a negative factor when making the sequels - because he had to take on ever
tougher tasks.

Reeves, who reprises his role as NEO in The Matrix Reloaded, admits it was
a mistake for him to speak out about the stunts he was able to take on, because
fight choreographer Yuen Wo Ping and director brothers ANDY and Larry Wachowski
decided
to work him even harder.

He says, "Because of the experience of the first one, I had some body
memory. I could pick up choreography quicker and I knew where I was with the
wire work. But once I said, 'Okay, I know how to do this,' Wo Ping would go,
'Well how about
this?' and the brothers were like, 'And how about this?' and so on. It was
backflips and cartwheels."

The end result left Reeves spending many evenings in ice baths.

He adds, "You're basically tearing micro muscle tissue every day. So you
get inflammation. And I'm 38 years old. I'm not 22 and bouncing around."