Characters / John Wick - The Continental Hotels

John Wick Main Character Index
John Wick | John's Family | The Continental Hotels | The High Table | The Tarasov Crime Family | Winston's Crew | Other Criminals

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The Continental Hotels

A chain of hotels that operate under the High Table and the criminal underworld that they run, acting as a safe zone for anyone who obeys their laws.

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In General

• The Dreaded: In The Continental, it's established that the Continentals' reputation as a hangout for criminals is well-known to the police, to the point that they steer clear of it at all costs.
• Milkman Conspiracy: A hotel chain that really acts as a front for various criminal organizations and assassins.
• Seeking Sanctuary: The safest place in the world to be in the criminal underworld is one of the Continentals, as "conducting business" there is a one-time offense death sentence. Ms. Perkins ignores this rule to try and kill John in his room and is executed by firing squad on Winston's orders for it, and Santino tries taking advantage of this when John goes after him, but John at that point is apathetic to surviving the encounter and too pissed off to care.
• Truce Zone: The #1 rule in all Continental Hotels is that "business" (murder) cannot be conducted on Continental grounds. This means that if any of the occupants have beef with the other occupants, they either behave themselves or they take it outside and settle their scores there. Anyone who violates this rule is immediately excommunicado and then marked for death by the High Table (that is if the owner doesn't have them killed first).
• Wicked Cultured: The Continental is one of the classiest places you could ever attend, with five-star service, shoe-shines, a barbershop, tailors, bars with entertainment, a massive vault of artillery, a crematorium to dispose of bodies and a hit-squad meant to kill anyone that breaks the rules.

New York

Winston Scott

Winston Scott

"If you want peace, prepare for war." (Latin: Si vis pacem, para bellum.)

^{Click here to see Winston in The Continental.}
"You see, I learned a suit doesn't make a man. No, it's what's inside the suit that counts."

Portrayed By: Ian McShane, Colin Woodell (young) ^{Other Languages} Ricardo Alanis [Lionsgate dub of John Wick], Fabián Mejía [from the Zima dub of John Wick onwards] (Latin American Spanish dub); Yoshito Yasuhara (Japanese dub)

Appearances: John Wick | John Wick: Chapter 2 | John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum | John Wick: Chapter 4 | John Wick (Dynamite Comics) | John Wick Hex | The Continental | Ballerina

"Have you thought this through? I mean, chewed down to the bone? You got out once. You dip so much as a pinky back into this pond... you may well find something reaches out... and drags you back into its depths."

The enigmatic owner of the New York Continental Hotel.

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• Affably Evil: Running a hotel for criminals doesn't stop him from being the nicest man in the movie and he never drops his good manners.
• All-Powerful Bystander:
  • Winston is the most powerful character in the first two films. He commands the Continental wherein all the assassins of the world must abide by his terms, he approves the gold coins that fuel the underground criminal economy for circulation, and a significant part of New York's underground is controlled by him.
    Winston: Nothing... you demand nothing, Mr. D'Antonio. This kingdom is mine and mine alone.
  • At the end of Chapter 2, his Accounts Payable number is just a string of 1s, hinting that he may have created the system.
  • Chapter 3 is where this trope is really put to the test as he's forced out of the position of being just a bystander when the High Table takes issue with his actions. With leverage on him for bending the rules, it's clear that the High Table can pull rank and strip his enterprise of its benefits. By the end, we see that Winston is a great planner with a lot of resources but there are other bigger and more powerful factions and characters.
  • Word of God is that while Winston isn't a member of the High Table, he's highly respected by them and could potentially gain membership if he wanted to.
• Ambiguous Situation: It's left ambiguous if Winston deliberately spared John at the climax of Parabellum or if he was genuinely trying to kill him. Word of God confirms it was the former.
• Anti-Hero: In Chapter 4. Winston's no saint and motivated by selfish reasons, but he's going up against the Marquis, someone undeniably worse than him who needs to be taken down.
• Anti-Villain: Winston is cultured, honorable, and a great friend to have, but like John he's not a good guy. He's absolutely ruthless about enforcing the rules, and for all that he cares about John his loyalty is ultimately always to himself and Charon.
• Apologetic Attacker: He apologizes to John right before betraying him to the High Table and shooting him.
  Winston: Sorry, Jonathan. Don't see any other way.
• Badass Boast:
  • See the above All-Powerful Bystander entry. The line completely shuts up Santino despite his initial arrogant demands to have John's membership revoked.
  • He also has the temerity to negotiate with the High Table Adjudicator rather than immediately kowtow, and when they react with surprise and declare "We are High Table" his response is gentle, but unshakeable:
    Winston: And we... are New York City.
• Bad Guy Bar: Owns a more elaborate version of one in the form of the Continental Hotel, a bad guy hotel. There's a bar, too, in the basement. A very nice one.
• Batman Gambit:
  • In the third film after realizing the Adjudicator wants him dead, Winston persuades John to help fight off their army of Elite Mooks. After killing them all, he convinces them that taking the Continental from him is more trouble than it's worth and shoots John to prove his loyalty. He also gives John a chance to survive, shooting him only in his bulletproof suit and attracting the Adjudicator's attention away from the body. All of it depends entirely on his knowledge of John and the Adjudicator's personalities and motives.
  • In the fourth film, he convinces John to challenge the Marquis to a duel so he can legally kill him and earn his freedom which would also get revenge for Charon's death. Winston also convinces him to let him serve as the intermediary, allowing him to both play on the Marquis's ego to get him to agree and make sure the terms of John's victory include Winston getting the Continental back.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: In the latter two films, Winston wants nothing more than to reclaim ownership of the Continental as the High Table repeatedly deconsecrates it. He succeeds in Chapter 4, but at the cost of Charon and John's lives. Winston has his hotel back, but it cost him his two closest friends.
• Benevolent Boss: Winston runs a tight ship with the Continental, but he is, all in all, a very stand-up person with his employees and subjects who all seem to like and are generally loyal to him, especially Charon.
• Berserk Button: Do not try to boss him around in his own hotel or make demands of him. Santino doing so is one of the very few times Winston drops his good manners and seems genuinely angry.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Winston is exceptionally charming and reasonable, never threatening unless he has to and preferring to avoid violence if he can, but it's established more than once that he is not someone to trifle with as he has no issue having people executed for breaking Continental rules and wields considerable power over the city.
• Big Good: "Good" is definitely a stretch when it comes to him, but he's John's most consistent ally across all four films and one of the few reasonable figures in the criminal underworld.
• Breakout Character: While a memorable presence, he's only a supporting character in the first film. His popularity resulted in him becoming a major character and being one of the few characters to return in every sequel, as well as getting his own prequel miniseries about his rise to power.
• Broken Pedestal: Winston claims he once admired Cormac, but turned against him after seeing the extent of his cruelty.
• The Chessmaster: In 3, he convinces John to defend the Continental until the High Table call for a truce, only to coldly shoot John off the roof of the Continental when it becomes clear that the High Table will only forgive his transgressions with John's death... but his expression and nonchalance when informed that John's body was never found suggests this was part of his plan all along. The fact he reunites with John while standing behind a chessboard makes a Visual Pun on the idea.
• Cool Old Guy: He's well into his later years (Ian McShane was seventy-two when the first film debuted and in his eighties in the fourth one) and he's quick-witted, soft-spoken and friendly.
• Could Say It, But...: "I know what you're thinking, Jonathan: we live by a code. Which is why I'm not the one telling you that a certain helicopter at a certain helipad is being fueled for a certain someone."
• Crazy-Prepared: Regardless of his power, Winston saw fit to install a luxurious safe room in the bowels of the Continental that seems to be stocked with just about anything you could need in any given emergency. It comes in very handy in Parabellum.
• Deadpan Snarker: Quite a dry wit to him.
  Winston: [A completely beat up Santino barges into the lounge] Mr. D'Antonio! Your evening has been... colorful, I see. Seeking safe harbor, I presume?
  Santino: I want his membership revoked. Now.
  Winston: In the eyes of this institution, Mr. Wick has breached no legalities.
  Santino: Then you know I have the right to demand of you-
  Winston: Nothing. You demand nothing of me, Mr. D'Antonio. This kingdom is mine and mine alone.
  Santino: Right. Then enjoy your kingdom, Winston, while you still can.
  Winston: And you, its privileges, sir!
• Deuteragonist: The amount of focus and characterization Winston gets is second only to John, and his actions drive the plot just as much as John's do throughout the second half of the quadrilogy.
• The Dreaded: People like him, as he is a very polite and friendly man and generally a good and fair leader, but they also fear him as they know how powerful he really is. Santino thinks he can make demands of Winston and Winston immediately puts him in his place. Even John knows better than to get on his bad side.
• Enigmatic Minion: To the High Table. Winston is content with running the Continental and will do anything to keep it, but his loyalty to John makes his true allegiances rather ambiguous. It eventually becomes clear that Winston is ultimately on his own side and he'll back anyone who lets him keep the Continental.
• Establishing Character Moment: In his introductory scene, John seeks his help in finding Iosef. Winston is happy to see him, but almost dismissively tells John to "have a drink, and relax...for now", seemingly obstructing John's request. However, when John goes to the bar and is served, Addy the bartender slips him a napkin with Iosef's location. John looks back at Winston, who toasts his drink at John, revealing Winston's respect for John is more than merely manager and guest.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Winston isn't really evil, but he's still a criminal who always has his own interests in mind. However, that doesn't mean he has no care for others:
  • Charon is his right-hand man and the two are exceptionally close friends and brothers-in-arms ever since Charon helped Winston avenge his brother's death in the 1970s. Charon's murder at the hands of the Marquis sparks Winston's intense grudge against the High Table enforcer.
  • He has a very paternal relationship with John and despite everything that happens it's clear that he's Like a Son to Me for Winston. He tearfully states the latter word-for-word at John's funeral.
  Winston: (in Russian) Farewell... my son.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Despite running a vast assassin network Winston is disgusted by the actions of Iosef, Perkins, and Santino.
  • He also doesn't tolerate anyone violating his hotel's Truce Zone or incentivizing people to violate it, as both Perkins and Viggo found out the hard way.
  • He despises the Marquis de Garamont for his cruelty, sadism and pettiness. So much so that Chapter 4 sees him actively going on the offensive against him.
• Evil Brit: He runs a vast criminal enterprise and speaks with a British accent (though not Ian McShane's natural accent - Winston has an RP "Queen's English" accent in contrast to McShane's natural Lancashire one). However, we learn in the closing moments of Chapter 4, as Ruska Roma, he was at the very least born in Belarus. The Continental reveals he grew up in New York City and left for England to make a new life for himself.
• Evil Old Folks: He's at least in his sixties (Ian McShane was seventy-two when the first film was released) and his age hasn't made him even slightly less intimidating or powerful.
• Family Extermination: As kids, Winston and Frankie threw a Molotov cocktail into a Bronx apartment on orders from Cormac, killing KD di Silva's family (who they didn't know were in the building at the time). Years later, KD tries to kill Winston as revenge while he's carrying out a takeover of the Continental, though ultimately decides to redirect her revenge at Cormac once she overhears him admit to ordering the hit.
• Four Is Death: Winston, on certain occasions, has a crew of four professional killers he'll bring along when he has to deal with someone who conducted business on his property. Perkins is fatally punished in this way.
• Full-Name Basis: A variation, in that he only ever refers to John as "Jonathan." Though, we find out in Chapter 3 that "Jonathan" is not John's real name.
• Gentleman Snarker: Winston has a way of insulting people in the most polite, urbane way possible and never dropping his good manners while doing so.
• Hero of Another Story: He is the main protagonist of The Continental, which explores how he came to be the manager of the New York Continental.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Charon. The two are undyingly loyal to each other and the two are practically joined at the hip. Charon puts himself at risk multiple times just to help Winston, and Winston prioritizes Charon's life above everyone else's, even his own.
• Hypocrite:
  • The Adjudicator accuses him of this in giving John the mercy lead. Winston is very judicious in enforcing the rules and killing those who disobey but decided to bend those same rules because John was a friend.
  • When John is sent to kill him under orders from the Elder, he points out Wick will just go back to being Baba Yaga instead of the man whom Helen fell in love with, and asks if he wishes to be a free man or a puppet of the Table. At the end of the movie he willingly goes back to serving the High Table and shoots John to prove his loyalty, although there is enough uncertainty in his words to imply that it's merely an act to fool the Adjudicator.
• I Am the Noun: He responds to the Adjudicator's threats with a particularly badass example. Word of God confirms he wasn't bluffing at all.
  The Adjudicator: We are High Table!
  Winston: And we are New York City.
• I Owe You My Life: According to Lance Reddick, his and Charon's mutual Undying Loyalty stems from one having saved the other's life. The two have been inseparable True Companions ever since.
• Informed Attribute: Word of God describes Winston as ambitious, but he doesn't really demonstrate it in the films themselves and he's fairly content with his admittedly powerful position as head of the New York Continental. The one time he does display such leanings by shooting John to earn the Adjudicator's favor, it's strongly implied to be an act. Though this is easily justified by the fact that Winston already is afforded a great deal power and respect in the underworld as one of the heads of the Continental and a potential candidate to the High Table as per Word of God, plus he shows another trait that keeps him from being made a target like others in the series: restraint.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While shooting John was undeniably cold, when the Bowery King calls him out on it Winston points out there was no way he could've sustained an all-out war against the High Table and doing so avoided a lot of bloodshed.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: A large part of what keeps Winston sympathetic is that he's leagues better than most of the people he helps John go up against. While he's no saint, Winston is polite, honorable, a good boss, and a loyal friend. Meanwhile, people like Santino, the Adjudicator, and the Marquis are excessively cruel Smug Snakes who delight in abusing their own power and using double standards to their advantage.
• Manipulative Bastard: Maybe. The events of the second movie result in the High Table telling Winston he's being replaced in a week, so he takes a more active role, and turns out to be this. Most notably, he successfully plays his friendship with John so that John joins Charon in defending the hotel instead of killing Winston as he told The Elder he would do... then, once the Adjudicator and Winston negotiate a reinstatement of Winston's preferred status quo, he shoots John off the Continental's roof. Then there's the fact that he doesn't seem too surprised or bothered by the news that John's body was not found...
• Man of Wealth and Taste: He's a little light on actual personal villainy, but between the suits, his choice of beverages (martinis, brandy, fancy coffees), and the class of the Continental itself, it's clear he enjoys the finer things in life.
• Mercy Lead: When John breaks the rules of the Continental, he gives him an hour's head start before putting a $14 million contract on his head.
• Morton's Fork: Faced with one at the climax of the third film. Either he kills John and has his position reinstated, or he's faced with an endless war with the High Table that will end with him, Charon, and John all dead. He chooses the former option, albeit reluctantly.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After shooting John, Winston is uncharacteristically silent even when Charon congratulates him on his Xanatos Gambit.
• Neighborhood-Friendly Gangsters: He may run a hotel that harbors assassins, but Winston is committed to ensuring his franchise remains free from bloodshed and providing the best service to his clients on top of that. He also seems to accept plenty of guests who are normal people and not assassins.
• Neutral No Longer: His giving John an hour head start ends up doing a lot of harm to his business. To the point where his hotel is deconsecrated and no longer regarded as a neutral safe zone. This coincides with him more directly backing John with weapons and manpower.
• Nice to the Waiter: He's also extremely polite to those who work for him, particularly Charon who makes clear Winston has his loyalty, no matter what.
• Noble Demon: Follows a strict code of conduct. Anyone breaking that code of conduct will face his wrath. Even John isn't spared, though Winston gives him an hour's head start. Understandable, as leaving John unpunished would make Winston and the Continental lose credibility. John also bears no ill will over it and doesn't hold any anger over it when he and Winston meet again.
• Nominal Hero: When he's on John's side. He's frequently hampered by the Continental's rules and not a good guy, but he'll help John take down people who are far worse than either of them as best he can if only out of personal loyalty.
• Non-Action Guy: Somewhat inevitably given his age, he never does any fighting or engages in any of the action scenes, even sitting back and drinking brandy while John and Charon plow through assassins. He wasn't always this way, though, as The Continental shows that as kids, he and his brother Frankie were used by Cormac O'Connor to torch a building in the Bronx. And in the 1970s, he assembles and leads a team that successfully conquers the Continental and deposes of Cormac to avenge Frankie's death. And after the successful coup, he guns down the Adjudicator in cold blood outside the hotel to send a message to the High Table that he means business.
• Oh, Crap!: He has a noticeable one when he realizes John is about to kill Santino on Continental grounds, and he spends the lead-up to it desperately trying to talk John down.
• Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Hero's relative, but he's an old man and the third and fourth films have him go up against the far younger Adjudicator and the Marquis.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Winston is almost always calm and is unflappable even in the face of certain death, but when he realizes John is about to kill Santino on Continental grounds he visibly panics and spends the entire time desperately trying to talk him down.
• Parental Substitute: It's implied he views John as a surrogate son, which he outright states while saying goodbye to him during his funeral.
• Pet the Dog: Gives John an hour's head start after he breaks Continental rules which is notable as he has Ms. Perkins executed on the spot for the same.
• Pragmatic Hero: He opts for direct solutions that cut to the heart of the matter rather than simply trying to cut through legions of mooks. He's introduced in the prequel series The Continental trying to get a London millionaire to invest ... in car parks.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Right before he executes Perkins for breaking the rules of the Continental.
  Winston: [four guards step out from the shadows] Ms. Perkins. Your membership to the Continental has been by thine own hand... revoked. [all four guards shoot Perkins as Charlie and co. walk in]
• Precision F-Strike: Winston curses exactly once in all four films. Notably, it's at the Marquis, one of the few people Winston shows active distaste towards.
  Winston: You arrogant asshole. He didn't shoot.
• Prefers Proper Names: Winston is the only character in the film to refer to John as "Jonathan". But the third film reveals that this too is an alias.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Winston is an ordinary, hard-working hotel manager whose services just so happen to include murder, having bodies cleaned up, and having plenty of criminal connections. The later films also have him mainly motivated by trying to keep his job as the High Table cracks down on him; it's just that this tends to involve a lot of complex planning and Batman Gambits.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: A highly respected and reasonable man with the Continental's authority at his back.
• Redeeming Replacement: Winston's predecessor Cormac was a capricious Bad Boss who treated his underlings horribly and killed innocent people - including his own employees - on a whim. Winston by contrast is a Benevolent Boss and a Noble Demon who treats his employees and friends with the utmost respect. While he's not one to be crossed, he never uses violence without due cause or being provoked, and never reaches the lows Cormac did.
• Refuge in Audacity: The Continental sees him take over the New York Continental from Cormac with just a team of a half-dozen people to avenge his brother's death at the hands of Cormac. After cementing his position, he guns down the Adjudicator on the street in front of the hotel and spares her bodyguard to send a message, knowing that they'll have no choice but to recognize him.
• Rules Lawyer:
  • "No business may take place on Continental grounds". This being a universal Continental rule, Winston does his best to enforce it and harshly (read: fatally) punishes those who violate it, though John seems to receive special treatment.
  • When John says "it's personal" (ergo it's not technically business, rather a personal vendetta and thus it doesn't break Continental rules) he discreetly gives John the information. See also Could Say It, But....
  • He also gave John an hour's head start after his murder of Santino, instead of having him cut down on the spot like Ms. Perkins.
• Sacred Hospitality: Those who come into his establishments and present a coin are guaranteed a safe place to relax and unwind from the stresses of the underground society. Those who abuse his hospitality by conducting business within his domain are lethally dealt with. Even John Wick himself is not spared from it, though Winston gives him a Mercy Lead of an hour.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Fittingly for someone of his stature, Winston has an eye for sophisticated suits and dress jackets.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: When the Marquis taunts him that if John loses their duel, Winston will be killed as well, Winston shuts him up in his usual polite manner.
  Winston: (shrugs) Such is life.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Winston's secondary at best, but it's clear he wields far more power in the city than even Viggo does. And as the second movie proved, Winston nearly holds the entire New York City in his pocket, as demonstrated in the ending.
• Survivor Guilt: After the Marquis kills Charon, he laments that it should have been him that died.
• Team Switzerland: Winston is firmly neutral in whichever conflicts Wick gets involved in, even if he provides helpful advice. He finally turns against John as he committed business inside Continental grounds, though whether or not it's truly a betrayal of John is a subject for debate.
• Theme Naming: He shares a first name with Winston Churchill. Given that the Rome Continental's manager is named Julius, it seems there's a pattern of naming them after famous wartime heads of state.
• Tranquil Fury: Almost the entirety of Chapter 4 has Winston in a very collected, but extremely furious state of mind after the Marquis killed Charon; consequentially making him very passive-aggressive to John's one-man war against the High Table with how much reckless abandon he is trying to face a Hydra Problem one bullet at a time causing Charon's death and the destruction of Winston's Continental as an example for keeping a blind eye to John's rampage and also holds nothing but thinly-veiled venom towards the Marquis in their interactions against one another. The only reason why Winston doesn't get more hostile towards John is because he remains his best chance to invoke a Revenge by Proxy against the Marquis and come out on top once more.
• True Companions:
  • With Charon. The two stick together through thick and thin, even when it could put Charon at risk of the High Table's wrath. After the Marquis kills Charon, Winston simply puts the epitaph "Friend" on his gravestone.
    Winston: That's what he was, above all else.
  • Zig-Zagged with John. Winston pulls a lot of strings to help him out and fudge the rules, but ultimately Winston can't protect him if he breaks the rules and he chooses to betray John at the climax of the third film. However, he loyally aids him throughout Chapter 4 and has him buried next to his wife at John's request.
• Undying Loyalty: Charon's loyalty to him goes both ways, and Winston is extraordinarily protective of his concierge. He even tries to dissuade Charon from accompanying him to his meeting with the Marquis, knowing it will likely end in his death and Winston goes on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge when the Marquis kills Charon instead.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Subverted. On one hand, he repays John for sparing him in spite of the Elder's orders by shooting him off the roof. On the other hand, the only reason he lost the Continental in the first place was because he gave John a one-hour mercy lead, instead of executing him like everyone else who breaks the rules. The Bowery King calls him out for it, which Winston justifies by pointing out the High Table would've had them all killed if he didn't and it's hinted he knew John would live.
• Uriah Gambit: Winston actually pulls this gambit on an overlord rather than underling. In Chapter 4, Winston informs John that he can challenge the Marquis de Gramont to single combat and win his freedom. Winston goads the Marquis into taking this option so that the Marquis can have the glory of defeating John, but has great confidence that John Wick can win the duel instead.
• Wild Card: Winston's generally reliable and pretty loyal to John, but ultimately Winston's priorities always remain with Charon and his ownership of the New York Continental. He turns on John in the name of keeping them safe, only to switch back to his side once the Marquis spitefully destroys the Continental and shoots Charon.
  John: You always have an angle, don't you?
  Winston: Doesn't everybody?
• Workaholic: He's always seen working at the Continental, and he lives there full-time so he'll always be on-call should it be necessary. It's implied part of the reason Winston is so desperate to keep the Continental whenever the High Table threatens to take it away isn't just because of the power it affords him, but because he has nothing else in his life.
  Santino: Is the manager in?
  Charon: The manager is always in.
• You Have Failed Me: Disobeying his direct order to not conduct business on his property will at least be met with a contract on the offender's life. Either that or Winston will call the offender to meet him somewhere where he will ambush the offender with some of his professional killers and formally announce that the offender has revoked their membership before the bullets start flying. If the offender doesn't fall for the trap, then presumably Winston will fall back on issuing a contract on their life.

Charon

Charon

"Such is life, sir."

^{Click here to see Charon in The Continental.}

Portrayed by: Lance Reddick, Ayomide Adegun (young) ^{Other Languages} Thierry Desroses (European French)

Appearances: John Wick | John Wick: Chapter 2 | John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum | John Wick: Chapter 4 | John Wick (Dynamite Comics) | John Wick Hex | The Continental | Ballerina

"Welcome to the Continental. How may I help you?"

The concierge at the New York Continental Hotel who always seems to know what the client needs.

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• Affably Evil: He's just as ruthless as Winston and John, but he's never anything less than polite, courteous, and accommodating.
• All There in the Manual: His name is never spoken until the third movie.
• Almighty Janitor: He is a concierge, which is already close to a janitor, but he is also Winston's Number Two and a talented killer just like his clientele.
• Ambiguously Gay: His relationship with the cellist in The Continental reads like a careful courtship. They spend time alone on the roof together, with the cellist serenading Charon as the latter writes a letter home to his father. The cellist then asks Charon to leave the Continental and come with him to the Conservatory he's just been accepted at in Ireland.
• Anti-Villain: Charon alternates between hero and villain depending on what Winston does. He'll just as happily provide John aid as he will stab him in the back, though he does genuinely seem to like him.
• The Atoner: Word of God is that Charon is actually worse than John and Winston, and works at the Continental to make up for something terrible he did in the past.invoked
• Badass in a Nice Suit: As befits his role, he's always impeccably dressed and the third film reveals he can fight alongside John with no issue.
• Bald Head of Toughness: Charon is bald, and while he doesn't get into the action much he's a dangerously competent combatant. He's able to take on dozens of the High Table's Elite Mooks basically single-handedly and wins.
• Baritone of Strength: He speaks with Lance Reddick's trademark sonorous bass, and as Chapter 3 shows he's able to hold his own in a fight quite nicely.
• Battle Butler:
  • In The Continental, he betrays Cormac and aids Winston's crew in deposing Cormac and taking over the hotel.
  • He participates in the defense of the New York Continental in Chapter 3, and not only is he one of the few people to survive the assault, but he does so with nary a smudge on his suit.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's always exceptionally polite and well-mannered but he has no issue enforcing the Continental's rules and he's also revealed to be an extremely capable combatant who can fight alongside John with no issue.
• Breakout Character: He's a fairly minor presence in the first film, but he quickly became a fan-favorite and received a major role in each subsequent film. Notably, he's the only character to appear in each film outside of John and Winston.
• The Comically Serious: His interactions with John's dog. Charon is as stoic as ever while taking care of the pooch, even while calling him a good dog.
• Consummate Professional: His tone never changes, whether he's greeting customers, potentially calling in a cleanup crew, or leading someone to their death.
• Exact Words: When John tries to board his dog at the Continental, Charon informs him the hotel doesn't board animals. However, as he points out that doesn't mean he can take care of the dog in his own free time.
• Friend to All Living Things: Or at least to John's dog. He's as stoic about it as he is with everything, but Charon clearly loves the dog to bits and is more than willing to watch over him for John.
  Charon: He is a good dog. I have enjoyed his company.
• Gentle Giant: He towers over the rest of the cast, but he's never anything less than polite and courteous. That doesn't mean he's any less ready to throw down than John is, and he proves to be very capable in combat during the climax of the third film.
• Gentleman Snarker: He's much less snarky than Winston, but whenever he does he's just as polite and courteous as always.
• Heroes Love Dogs: He's very fond of John's pit bull and takes care of him on his own time, both as a favor to John and because he genuinely likes the dog.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Winston. With Charon. The two are undyingly loyal to each other and the two are practically joined at the hip. Charon puts himself at risk multiple times just to help Winston, and Winston prioritizes Charon's life above everyone else's, even his own.
• Hidden Depths: Prim, proper, polite, eloquent, dignified, and badass enough to take on busloads of heavily armored assassins attacking the Continental, and survive.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: He's Winston's right hand and plays a major role in keeping the hotel running.
• I Owe You My Life:
  • In the prequel comic set years before the events of the movies, John ends up saving Charon from Pecos and his goons in El Paso. It's Charon who ends up introducing John to the Continental and ends up offering assistance to him as thanks for saving his life.
  • Lance Reddick has stated that Winston and Charon's mutual Undying Loyalty stems from one of them having saved the other's life. The two stuck together ever since.
• It Has Been an Honor: After being mortally wounded by the Marquis, Charon uses his last words to tell Winston that it's been an honor working with him.
• Meaningful Name: Charon is the ferryman of the dead in Greek mythology. Charon's purpose as the receptionist of a hotel for assassins relates to the mythological figure metaphorically (i.e. both Charon's take you from the "world of the living" to the "world where death reigns"). The second movie also reveals he personally drives those who break Continental rules up to the spot they'll be executed, fitting the name association more literally. Parabellum shows he's more than capable of sending people to the afterlife himself.
• Morality Pet: While Winston is polite to just about everyone, Charon is one of the few he regards as an old friend.
• Nice Guy: As Lance Reddick describes him, Charon is the concierge's concierge: polite, courteous, understanding, and urbane at all times. He has a definite ruthless streak, but compared to the rest of the criminal underworld he's practically a saint.
• Nominal Hero: Charon's the best concierge you could ever ask for and he's happy to help John as much as his job allows, but ultimately his loyalty lies with Winston. And while neither of them are particularly malicious, they are very ruthless about making sure the Continental stays up and running.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: We don't get to see much of him while he's defending the Continental during the climax of the third movie, but it's implied that he manages to off an army's worth of the High Table's elite goons by himself.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • He gets visibly annoyed in the third movie when the High Table's Elite Mooks attacking his hotel aren't dying as easily as expected.
  • During the meeting with the Marquis, Charon is uncharacteristically and visibly terrified. It goes a long way to show just how dangerous the man is that even Charon is terrified of him.
• Pet the Dog: Literally, in the second movie John needs someone to take care of his dog and though Charon says the Continental doesn't offer that service he agrees to do it himself out of a personal favor to John. He keeps this up in Parabellum even if John himself is excommunicated from their services.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Charon is an above-average concierge who just so happens to work at a hotel that primarily services assassins and other criminals. He's not even particularly evil and isn't involved in as many of the darker areas that Winston and Charlie are. He is ruthless at times and more than willing to kill intruders, but he's still a fairly pleasant guy for the most part.
• Rules Lawyer: He stops Zero from killing John by pointing out that he is technically on Continental's ground (one hand on the stairs), where no business can be conducted despite the latter's excommunicado status. Also, while he can't give John special privilege, asking to see the manager of a hotel is nothing special.
• Sacrificial Lion: Early on in Chapter 4, once Winston gets stripped of his role as director, the Marquis deems that he no longer needs a concierge and puts a bullet in Charon's heart, making him the first of John's major allies to die and showing just how bad their situation has gotten.
• Servile Snarker: When Wick asks for laundry for his bloody, ripped clothing:
  Charon: I'm sorry to say, no one is that good.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Always dressed in a nice suit. Presentation is important even if your customers are criminals.
• The Stoic: Charon's demeanor is always calm, and he almost never expresses any emotion outside of his usual bland politeness. The only exceptions are when he's angry or panicked.
• Stoic Spectacles: Charon is perpetually calm and stoic, and sports a pair of glasses that go nicely with his measured personality.
• This Is Gonna Suck: When John goes to meet with Santino in the Continental lobby, Charon doesn't say anything but is visibly resigned and nervous. Like Winston, he knows John well enough that he realizes there's no way Santino's walking out of that room alive regardless of the consequences.
• Tranquil Fury: He is only shown getting angry twice: during the shootout at the Continental in the third movie and when confronting the men who tried to assassinate him in the prequel comic. Despite being angry, he maintains his calm demeanor even when killing the parties responsible.
• True Companions:
  • With Winston. The two stick with each other through thick and thin, and Charon refuses to abandon him even when it would probably be in his best interests.
  • He's also rather close with John, but this does not apply to them. Charon's loyalty will always be to Winston, and he's perfectly on board with selling John out to the High Table.
• Undying Loyalty: In the third movie, it's clear that his main loyalty is towards Winston, and not the Continental or the High Table, or even to John himself, whose seeming death at Winston's hand elicits nothing more than "Well played, sir". On the other hand, he may have been aware something was up.
• Unfazed Everyman: He acts for the most part like a perfectly normal and professional concierge, but he treats tasks like checking on noise complaints and doing the laundry the same as fending off armed intruders with a shotgun and disposing of bodies.

Addy

Addy

Portrayed By: Bridget Regan

Appearances: John Wick

The beautiful bartender at the New York Continental.

---

• Bad Guy Bar: She's the bartender for the Continental.
• The Bartender: Addy tends bar for Winston.
• Nice Girl: She's a pleasant, sincere and charming young lady.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Perhaps to an even greater extent than all other Continental staff, being a bartender that just happens to primarily serve assassin and other criminals.
• Statuesque Stunner: Given her actress, she qualifies.

Charlie

Charlie

"And here I'd feared you'd left all this behind."

Portrayed By: David Patrick Kelly, Peter Greene (young)

Appearances: John Wick | John Wick: Chapter 2 | The Continental

Head of a cleaning crew that takes care of the collateral damage caused by various shootouts. Including body disposal. And they're very good at it. It's never outright said they work for Winston or the Continental, but they do accept the same gold coins as payment and they are present to clean up after Mrs. Perkins has all her hotel privileges "revoked."

---

• Affably Evil: Oh so polite when he's cleaning up the bodies of people that have just been murdered.
• Cleanup Crew: His job is to clean up evidence from crime scenes and dispose of bodies.
• Consummate Professional: Much like anyone else who works for the Continental. He and his boys will wrap up dead bodies in plastic, clean up all the blood and guns and any other mess, and leave the scene of the crime spick and span.
• Dissonant Serenity: When he meets John to clean up the bodies of Viggo's assassins, he greets John as an old friend who he hasn't seen in a long time. All the while he and his men are wrapping up the bodies and cleaning the floor.
  Charlie: Good to see you, John. [Charlie's men walk in] You look good. And here I'd feared you left all this behind.
• Evil Old Folks: While he doesn't participate in violence, he can't be a very good person if he's the clean-up guy for New York's criminal element.
• Fedora of Asskicking: Played with in that Charlie wears a fedora, but is not someone who directly engages in the violence. He is, however, the supervisor of the cleanup crew, which establishes his authority. The hat deserves mention as a signature look for Charlie, and how he politely doffs it in John's direction when greeting him.
• In Love with Your Carnage: He's very happy to see that John is apparently back in business again, and is rather impressed by the amount of home intruders he's just murdered and asked Charlie to clean up.
  Charlie: You look good. And here I'd feared you left all this behind.
• Leitmotif: Lure the Wolf. A similar track named Membership Revoked plays when Charlie makes his second appearance in the film after Winston has Perkins executed.
• Mister Big: While he's a regular-sized old man, every single member of his crew are double, maybe even triple his size.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Subverted. Charlie's just as polite as most Continental staff, but unlike them he takes a disturbing amount of enjoyment in his line of work. He's also disturbingly happy that John's working again.
• Unusual Euphemism: His services are referred to as "dinner reservations", for the number of bodies that need to be removed.

Continental Doctor

Continental Doctor

Portrayed By: Randall Duk Kim

Appearances: John Wick | John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

The in house doctor of the New York Continental. He's part of the services the Hotel provides where injured assassins can be patched up and back on their feet for more work.

---

• Back-Alley Doctor: Downplayed. His certifications aren't known but he does have a position at a very prestigious hotel and access to a lot of resources. Though his appearance in Chapter 3 plays into the trope more with a very quick operation performed (sans anesthesia) in his own home.
• The Bus Came Back: Showed up in the first film to patch John up after Kirill injured him at the club and returns in the third film when John seeks him out.
• Just a Flesh Wound: Invokes this on himself as he instructs John to shoot him in spots that won't cause too much damage after handing John a Derringer.
• Magic Antidote: The medicine he provides John is vaguely defined but apparently miraculous. In the first film, one type of pill allows John to maintain functionality immediately after ingestion the morning after he'd been beaten, stabbed, and thrown off a balcony (it doesn't deal with pain, though, John had bourbon for that). In the third film, another type of pill helps John deal with the pain from a stab wound while also fighting off infection and providing an energy boost.
• Properly Paranoid: Upon giving John some pills after the man's excommunication went into effect, he has John shoot him twice to make it look like his aiding John was forced on him. It's a bit of Black Comedy at Chapter 3's beginning, but as the film plays out the audience is shown just how severely giving assistance to excommunicated members is punished and how right he was to think taking a bullet or two was the better choice.
• Punch-Clock Villain: As with most Continental staff. He's an extremely competent, dedicated, and polite doctor who just so happens to make his living patching up assassins.
• Traitor Shot: Subverted. When John is getting up from his surgery, the Doctor retrieves a gun. Instead of shooting him, he hands it to John and asks John to shoot him to make it look like a robbery.

Cormac O'Connor

Cormac O'Connor

Portrayed By: Mel Gibson

Appearances: The Continental

Winston's former boss, and the manager of the New York Continental in the 1970s.

---

• Bad Boss: Cormac is the kind of boss who'll threaten an employee's family to compel him to kill himself. He also has a Hair-Trigger Temper and no problem braining someone over even the slightest hint of disloyalty.
• Boom, Headshot!: KD di Silva shoots him in the head as revenge for the deaths of her family on his orders.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Upon realizing that KD shot him and not Winston, all he can say to her is, "I did something to you, didn't I?" KD affirms that before shooting him in the head.
• Disproportionate Retribution: He beats Thomas the cellist to death simply for suggesting that Charon could broaden his horizons.
• It's All About Me: He'll only help others if doing so will benefit him.
  • To convince Charon to betray Cormac, Winston describes how he met Cormac. Cormac complained about his ragged shoes and sent a burly thug to his class to deliver a new pair, as Cormac only cared about how Winston's appearance reflected upon him.
  • When Charon returns to the Continental and finds Thomas dead, Cormac finally agrees to bring Charon's father to America...but only because his father is a violinist and Cormac perceives that he would be more loyal as a family member.
• Karmic Death: In 1955, he sends Winston and Frankie to torch a building that he knows has a family in it for the purpose of shaping them into killers. 20 years later, the sole survivor of the fire kills him as revenge, moments after she overhears him admitting this to Winston.
• Loophole Abuse: In his first scene, he orders one of his underlings to execute another within his office. The man refuses the order, citing the "no business can be conducted on the premises" rule. Likewise noting that he can't have the underling executed for refusing to obey such an order lest he be the one facing excommunication, he instead threatens to kill the man's family if he doesn't jump to his own death from the nearby balcony.
• A Real Man Is a Killer: In 1955, he sends Winston and Frankie to torch a building that he knows is occupied by an innocent family, because he wants them to get a taste of what it means to kill someone so he can groom them into soldiers. His admission to this leads to his death moments later at the hands of KD di Silva, the sole survivor of said family.

Frankie Scott

Francis Patrick Scott

Portrayed By: Ben Robson, Ben Robinson (young)

Appearances: The Continental

"You know, sometimes, Winston, you gotta make choices you don’t want to protect the people you care about. Maybe you’ll get to understand that one day."

The elder of the Scott brothers, he went to prison, then he went to Vietnam, then he went back to work for Cormac.

---

• Big Brother Instinct: He took the fall for a crime the boys committed in the past on Cormac's behalf. He never regretted it and was happy his little brother got out and made it good.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: After prison, he got drafted and got hooked on dope. He tried to clean up his act, but stayed a screw-up.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Because he knows how bad the world of the Continental is and how out of his depth Winston is, Frankie leaps out of their escape helicopter and gets a Boom, Headshot! to keep his wife and little brother safe at the end of the first episode of The Continental.

Rome

Julius

Julius

"You're not here for the Pope, are you?"

Portrayed By: Franco Nero

Appearances: John Wick: Chapter 2

The Manager of the Rome Continental. Appears to be on the same terms with John as Winston is.

---

• Bad Guy Bar: Everything that applies to Winston, also applies to Julius.
• Cool Old Guy: Seems to be a prerequisite for Continental Managers so far.
• Even Evil Has Standards: As with Winston, there is to be no fighting on Continental grounds. He was also worried that John Wick had come to Rome to kill the Pope.
• Punch-Clock Villain: He's an ordinary hotel manager whose job just so happens to catering to assassins and helping with their dirty work.
• Real Men Love Jesus: His legitimate concern with the Pope's health hints he's a devout Catholic.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: Rivalled only by Winston.
• Theme Naming: As in the Winston entry above, there seems to be a pattern of naming the Continental managers after famous wartime leaders—in this case, Julius Caesar.

The Sommelier

The Sommelier

Portrayed By: Peter Serafinowicz

Appearances: John Wick: Chapter 2

The man in charge of the Rome Continental's armory, who treats his business more like he's selling fine wine.

---

• Affably Evil: He's an Arms Dealer who provides weapons to assassins looking at a body count of dozens, but is impeccably polite and cheerful about it.
• Arms Dealer: He provides high-quality weaponry to professional hitmen. It's not clear if he is actually selling them directly or if the armory is a service paid for by checking in to the Continental.
• Audible Sharpness: The knives he presents to John are so sharp that there's a high-pitched "shing" sound when he picks one up. The Sommelier proudly notes that all of them are freshly stoned.
• Baritone of Strength: While we don't see him fighting, he's a gun expert to a degree that can impress even John, and he's got a very deep voice, courtesy of his actor.
• Consummate Professional: Unlike most other gun dealers in fiction, the Sommelier relishes in recommending the finest firearms for the right situation, and does so very politely.
• Deadly Euphemism: His entire Lock-and-Load Montage with John, as they plan for John's 'party' (aka an assassination followed by a likely bloody exfiltration). A 'tasting' means that a buyer is ready to shop for guns. 'I know of your past fondness for the German varietals, but I can wholeheartedly endorse the new breed of Austrians' is saying 'I know you like to use German handguns for your work, but these custom Austrian Glocks will work amazing for you.' Something 'robust, precise' refers to an all-purpose yet accurate weapon, such as a custom-made, scoped AR-15 assault rifle. Something for the 'end of the night' that is 'big, bold' refers to a backup weapon with more stopping power to be used during a protracted fight, like the Benelli M4 shotgun. He's even amused when John refers to a set of knives as "dessert."
• Dissonant Serenity: He's cheerful and enthusiastic about his job, proudly displaying his wares with a warm smile. He casually recommends textured grips in case John's exfiltration turns bloody ("should your hands get... 'wet'"). Once the "tasting" is over, he sends him off with the hope that he will "enjoy [his] party", as though John were actually heading to a ball and not on his way to assassinate someone.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": He is only ever referred to as "The Sommelier" in the second film.
• Friendly Shopkeeper: The Sommelier is delighted to see and serve John. He performs his duties with gusto, showing John his finest wares with pride while taking into account his personal preferences. His cheerfulness even gets John to match the Sommelier's tendency for Deadly Euphemism.
• Gentleman Snarker: Speaks with the poshest of British accents, with no lack of snark.
• Non-Indicative Name: True to his name, he is a wine expert (as denoted by the badge on his lapel and the tastevin around his neck). But on top of that, he is a weapons expert and provides the Continental of Rome's clientele with guns and knives and makes weapons suggestions as if they were fine wines. He even refers to his guns based on their region, the Glock 34 and 26 as "the new breed of Austrians", and the Benelli M4 shotgun as "an Italian classic".
• Punch-Clock Villain: He supplies assassins with guns, but he's nothing but polite to his clients and treats the whole thing like a wine tasting.
• Sommelier Speak: Doubles as Spy Speak and Deadly Euphemism, considering he and his customers use it to talk about guns.

Casablanca

Sofia

Sofia Al-Azwar

"After this we are less than even."

Portrayed By: Halle Berry

Appearances: John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

"Nothing’s ever just a conversation with you, John."

A retired assassin and old friend of John Wick, currently acting as Manager of the Casablanca Continental.

---

• Attack Animal: Fights with two Belgian Malinois.
• Action Girl: An assassin who used to fight alongside John before his retirement. In fact, she's the first female assassin in the series to actually be allied with Wick.
• Action Mom: She has a daughter who John helped hide, indebting her to him with a Marker. In the present, she doesn't want to know where her daughter is, because she doesn't trust herself enough to not go looking for her.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: She's the manager of the Continental in Morocco. That gives her the same authority as Winston and Julius, which she made use of by ordering her right-hand man to bring John to her hotel safely and kill anyone who tries to hurt him despite John being excommunicado. That doesn't mean she isn't as deadly as John in a fight, which is justified because she was a former assassin before becoming a manager.
• The Beastmaster: Sofia has a pair of trained attack dogs to complement her fighting style. There even seems to be a specific command for Groin Attack.
• Boom, Headshot!: Much like John, Sofia's fighting style is based around setting up a cap to the head.
• Distaff Counterpart: She uses the Center Axis Relock fighting system, will murder anyone who hurts her dogs, and retired as an assassin so that a loved one could live a normal, civilian life. Basically, she's the female version of John Wick.
• Foil: While both share a fondness for dogs, Sofia provides an interesting mirror to John in terms of retirement. John left the game to settle down with his wife and tried to steer clear of the assassin business. Sofia stayed within the game but moved from a player to more of an administrator. Sofia lives a fairly safe life with a lot of power but that comes with a lot of responsibilities and the High Table monitoring her every move.
• Groin Attack: She doesn't deliver any on her own. She has her dogs for that.
• Jerkass to One: Sofia makes it clear from minute one that there's considerable enmity between her and John, and even contemplates shooting him down on the spot, not for the bounty but out of spite. She actually does shoot him, but his armored suit stops the round, although it's questionable whether she knew. Even after her blood Mark is paid off, she still gets one in on him by providing him with a piddly amount of water for his Crossing the Desert, but not before thoroughly gargling it in her mouth and spitting it back into the bottle.
• Mama Bear: Sofia's primary goal is to protect her daughter who John helped save years ago. However, she dearly loves her dogs and hurting them is a surefire way to trigger her fury.
• More Deadly Than the Male: John Wick is a lethal assassin on his own, but Sofia is on par with him, and she has her dogs. Also, she will go to war for simply hurting her dogs not even in a serious manner.
• "Not So Different" Remark: When she basically starts a war over somebody shooting her dog, John acknowledges that her reaction is totally valid.
  John: I get it.
• One-Woman Army: In addition to using John's fighting style in combat, she racks up a similarly egregious body count.
• Tattooed Crook: Has a tattoo under her right eye, one in Arabic on the right side of her neck, and several others across her body.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: She hates John for calling his Marker. She explains she does one mistake by helping him the High Table might go after her daughter and then her. John isn't happy about having to coerce her but he is out of options.
• Uncertain Doom: After she leaves John in the desert, she's never brought up again. But Sofia did assist John, even after he'd been excommunicated. As has been shown, with what happened to The Director, not even honoring a token, like a marker, excuses that. Worse, she attacked an extremely high-ranking member of the High Table's organization, after being invited into his company, and slaughtered dozens of his men. Considering the reprisals that fell upon all the others who helped John, and the High Table's far-reaching power, her future is not looking bright at all. Although she was helping John because he had a Marker from her, so it isn't enitrely unlikely the High Table would've taken that into account.

Osaka

Shimazu

Shimazu Koji

"A good death only comes after a good life."

Portrayed By: Hiroyuki Sanada

Appearances: John Wick: Chapter 4

"Fools talk, cowards are silent, but wise men listen."

The Manager of the Osaka Continental and another old friend of John Wick. He has a daughter named Akira.

---

• Affably Evil: Though he's light on personal villainy, he's still involved with the High Table. He's also polite, a loving father, and a loyal friend.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Like Sofia, he's the Manager of a Continental hotel who's also a formidable fighter in his own right. When the Osaka Continental is besieged by the High Table's soldiers, he manages to take out several of the enemies and lasts much longer than his men. It takes Caine - a master assassin - who finally brings him down.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Much like Winston, he's polite and well-mannered but exceedingly dangerous. Unlike Winston, Koji can back-up his threats with physical force and proves to be an absolutely brutal fighter.
• Blue Blood: Perhaps. Some research into the name Shimazu shows that they are a real life samurai clan dating back to the 17th century (whose domain was among those responsible for the Meiji Restoration). It's never stated that he is connected with those Shimazu but given his and his followers' affinity for traditional samurai weapons and the Table's penchant for having the titled and well-connected among their ranks, it's very possible he and his daughter are descended from that clan.
• Cool Old Guy: Old enough to have an adult daughter whom he loves dearly, an easygoing and pleasant man despite his profession, a lethal combatant and willing to go as far as defying the High Table to protect John Wick, his old friend.
• Expy: Hiroyuki Sanada previously played a similar character in Bullet Train, which also had some of the people from John Wick behind it.
• Face Death with Dignity: He knows he's no match against Caine, yet he fights to the bitter end anyway to protect his daughter and John.
• Foil: To Caine. Both men have history with John Wick, and both find themselves drawn into the conflict of Chapter 4 by their relationships with people they're close with, but while Caine was blackmailed into opposing John by the Marquis threatening his daughter, Shimazu willingly chooses to help out John in spite of having no formal obligation to on account of their close companionship. In addition, while both Shimazu and Caine have daughters whom they greatly care for, Shimazu's daughter works alongside him while Caine keeps his distance from his daughter to avoid putting her in danger.
• A Friend in Need: Koji is under no formal obligation to shelter John and, indeed, has every reason to turn him away when he comes calling to the Osaka Continental. He still provides helps and shelters him anyway.
  Koji: Friendship means little when it's convenient.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He fights Caine to protect his daughter and buy John time to escape, and is ultimately killed because of it.
• Honor Before Reason: He knows that John Wick is a wanted man by the High Table and assisting him amounts to a death sentence considering what the Marquis did to Winston and the New York Continental, yet he still provides John with a safe harbor inside his hotel anyway because they're old friends. Even when he's facing certain death fighting Caine, he refuses to give up John's location to the very end, forcing Caine to kill him.
• Katanas Are Just Better: In a modern setting where powerful firearms and advanced weaponry are at his beck and call, Shimazu prefers the beautiful simplicity of a katana.
• Master Swordsman: Befitting a Japanese assassin, he's lethal with his katana and utilizes both individually and with his firearms, making him a very deadly opponent.
• Nice Guy: He's polite, a loving father, and an insanely loyal friend.
• Noodle Incident: When Caine points out that John has no marker to hold over Koji, the latter replies that there are some debts even more important than a literal Blood Oath. Just WHAT has John done to earn such gratitude on Koji's part?
• Oh, Crap!: Has this reaction when he hears Caine's voice. Prior to this, he believes his men can hold their own in the hotel. However, when Koji realizes that Caine is present, he knows that it will only be a matter of time before they're overrun. And he's proven right when his men pin down the High Table troops the kitchen, only to be easily (and reluctantly) slaughtered by Caine.
• Papa Wolf: When Akira is at a disadvantage from a High Table enforcer, Shimazu immediately appears from the shadows and cuts the man down. He's also visibly worried when he sees she has been stabbed. He later dies in his duel with Caine, whom he fights for both John and the safety of Akira.
• Punch-Clock Villain: He doesn't get to show off many villainous traits, but he is a Continental manager. He's impeccably polite and dedicated to giving good customer service, but he is primarily serving assassins and his services undoubtedly involves some morally dubious stuff.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Koji has many things to say to his former friend Caine, now that the latter hunts John for the High Table, and none of them good:
  Caine: No man defies the Table. I remember you once understood that.
  Koji: And I remember a time when you understood the meaning of brotherhood.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: As is customary for Continental managers. He wears a high-end kimono appropriate for someone of his position.
• Sword and Gun: Shimazu's Osaka Continental is full of katanas and people that know how to use them, but he's not above making use of a pistol if the situation calls for it.
• Theme Naming: Likely named after the Shimazu Clan of Satsuma (current Kyushu area) from feudal Japan.
• Undying Loyalty: Despite knowing that the High Table will come for him and the Osaka Contintenal for helping someone that's excommunnicado, he does not hesitate at all to help John when the Table's forces come for him. This loyalty sadly costs him his life.
• Wicked Cultured: He carries himself with the dignity and grace of a Japanese noble and several rooms of the Osaka Continental showcase museums full of traditional Japanese armour, weapons and artwork, implied to be ancestral. He also wears traditional garb and his words have a very philosophical edge to them.
• Worf Had the Flu: He comes into his fight with Caine already wounded from a previous fight with Chidi's men, providing him with a handicap that proves to be fatal against Caine.
• Yakuza: A more sophisticated portrayal than most. Several of his henchmen in the Osaka Continental evokes the Yakuza aesthetic.

Akira

Shimazu Akira

"Welcome to the Osaka Continental."

Portrayed By: Rina Sawayama

Appearances: John Wick: Chapter 4

"If they find you here, the Table will kill my father, me, everyone, because you broke the rules. You shouldn't have come."

A concierge at the Osaka Continental, who's also Koji's daughter.

---

• Action Girl: In addition to being a concierge, she's also a very skilled fighter in her own right. When the High Table sends a large group of soldiers to take over the Osaka Continental, she fights alongside her father and John and manages to take out quite a number of enemies by herself. In The Stinger, she shows up ready to take the fight to Caine, the man who killed her father and by that point, John Wick himself, without any fear at all.
• Battle Butler: Like Charon, she's also a concierge of a Continental hotel and a deadly fighter who doesn't hesitate to take on the High Table's hit squads when the hotel is invaded.
• Chekhov's Gunman: She disappears on the train after the fight at the Osaka Continental, only to show up in The Stinger, ready to take revenge on Caine.
• Crazy-Prepared: She wears full body armor under her traditional kimono dress, knowing that it's only a matter of time before the High Table will send a hit squad to the hotel to find John Wick and, knowing her father's friendship with him, will inevitably lead to violence.
• Daddy's Girl: Akira clearly has a warm and loving relationship with her father, who is also her manager. She's left utterly heartbroken by his death and swears revenge against Caine for it. Even knowing full well he didn't want to kill him does nothing to deter her from seeking revenge on him and she shows contempt for John as his presence indirectly led to her father's demise and the deconsecration of their home.
• Jerkass Has a Point: If it can even be qualified as jerkassery. Akira is very blunt and outspoken in stating that John's presence in the Osaka Continental will bring nothing but death and misery to everyone involved, which turns out to be true when the High Table Faceless Goons and the Marquis' Elite Mooks show up.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Akira is an intelligent and well-spoken concierge, in a nice outfit, who worries about her hotel and her father. The second she hears the High Table is attacking, she instantly sheds her fancy clothes, reveals her modernized ninja suit underneath, grabs a bow, and teams up with John to apply geta to various rears.
• Master Archer: Her weapon of choice is bow and arrows, and she's proficient enough with it that she could shoot accurately into the gaps of the High Table's Elite Mooks' nigh-impregnable armors.
• Punch-Clock Villain: As is typical for Continental staff. She's dedicated to giving good customer service to her guests, but while it's never shown her duties do include the occasional murder. She's also quite violent in a fight, although she's only shown attacking in self-defense.
• Sole Survivor: She's the only member of the Osaka Continental staff who survives the attack by the High Table.
• Sour Supporter: While she fights to defend John Wick, she openly resents the man, viewing him as a magnet for disaster who brings death to anyone he relies on. She bases this on the Marquis having destroyed the New York Continental for helping John, and sure enough they come for her father's hotel next.
• Spy Catsuit: Her body armor looks like this, without the usual fanservice. It's still somewhat shiny, though. Probably because it's easier for the audience to see. And it looks cooler.
• You Killed My Father: She holds a grudge against Caine for killing her father. In The Stinger, it's heavily implied that she's going to take the fight to him.

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