Meet the Adjudicator: Asia Kate Dillon Tells Us All About "John Wick: Chapter 3" (and Teases "John Wick 4, 5, 6")

The trailblazing actor is here to make life hell for John Wick.

First, Asia Kate Dillon admired Keanu Reeves as an actor.

Now, they’re making his life misery in John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum. That’s called living the dream.

(Dillon identifies as non-binary and uses the pronoun 'they'.)

Not all John Wick fans should expect to be called up for service like Dillon. Unlike Dillon, few have supporting performances on Orange is the New Black or Billions on their CV. (In the latter, they blazed a trail in the role of financial analyst Taylor Mason, the first non-binary main character on North American television.)

Nor do those fans have Dillon’s mother as their own personal cheerleader/professional good luck charm.

"It was my mum who turned me onto the John Wick franchise," they tell Student Edge.

"Back in 2015 she sent me an email saying she was excited about this movie, John Wick, starring one of our favourites, Keanu Reeves. I saw the first one, and then the second one, I thought 'Well, how could they possibly surpass the first one?' And then they did."

They do it again with Parabellum, in which Reeves’ seemingly-deathless hitman finds himself hunted by killers from all over the globe seeking a $14 million payday. Dillon plays a big part in Parabellum’s success, as the mysterious and extremely precise Adjudicator whose job it is to ensure Wick and assassins like Wick play by the rules of their expansive international organisation, the High Table. Sometimes that means punishing—brutally—those who help Wick bend those rules. It’s a living.

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Dillion, however, is hesitant to call The Adjudicator a villain, leaving room for speculation as to what might unfold in a hypothetical "John Wick 4, 5, 6 or a prequel". (We will take them all, thanks.)

"One of the things I love about this movie [is] it left me asking these questions, but I hope it leaves the audience asking, 'Would [The Adjudicator] have helped John Wick? Would they go against the High Table? Would they break the rules?' It remains to be seen. I think the Adjudicator likes their job and I also think there’s a little bit of, like, maybe they wish they could break the rules too. Maybe."

Viewers’ curiosity will no doubt be sparked by the new addition to the cast. They'll especially be wondering what the Adjudicator could possibly get up to in their down time.

"I think there’s one version where the Adjudicator perhaps likes to do some gardening, or a puzzle, or something that is very calm and centering," Dillion speculates.

"But I could also see the Adjudicator going rock climbing, or taking capoeira lessons."

Either way, despite taking on this inscrutable character in a wild fictional world, Dillon appreciated being represented, in a way, within the John Wick franchise.

Before shooting began, they asked the director, Chad Stahelski, and star, Reeves, if the Adjudicator could be non-binary too, making the John Wick franchise "a world I can be myself in."

"I want to play the parts for which I’m the best actor, but also, I’m committed to playing roles and committing to projects that uplift historically marginalised and historically disenfranchised people," they say.

"I feel fortunate that I’m in the position to be choosy about what roles I want to play, not necessarily because I have a whole bunch of money, but because I’m not afraid of doing whatever I need to do."

Dillon’s casting in Parabellum was whirlwind, especially after 17 years spent in the service industry trying to forge an acting career. (They were still "working brunch shifts in restaurants" while filming Season 4 of Orange is the New Black, where they played the self-identified white supremacist Brandy. "If people recognise me from Orange is the New Black, I think people are understandably wary of approaching me," Dillon adds.)

"Last March, actually, when I was wrapping Season 3 of Billions and we were also talking about our summer plans, I said, ‘Well, I know that John Wick 3 is filming in the city this summer, and I should be in that movie," they explain.

"A month and a half later I got a call from my manager that Chad wanted to meet me, because they had been trying out a couple different ideas for the Adjudicator, but hadn’t settled on anyone."

"So I got a call on a Wednesday night, met Chad on a Thursday, met Keanu on a Friday, and was in hair and makeup over the weekend to start shooting before Tuesday."

Next for Dillon is the just-announced fifth season of Billions, for which they can offer zero spoilers: "Honestly, one of the best things about working on that show is that episode to episode, I have no idea what’s going to happen."

But a return to the John Wick-iverse has plenty of appeal too.

"The movie is definitely set up for the possibility of more," they say.

"I’d be curious to see if the Adjudicator sticks to their guns, so to speak. How long they remain an emissary of the high table; whether or not they themself decide to say 'f*** the rules' and maybe help John Wick. I think the possibilities are endless and that’s what’s so exciting to me."

John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum is now in cinemas.

Header Image: STUDIOCANAL Australia