Nathalie Emmanuel’s nightclub fight in John Woo’s The Killer introduces Zee through a calculated mix of dance, concealment and close-quarters combat. In a 2024 interview, Emmanuel, Woo and stunt coordinator Gregg Smrz described how the scene uses a sword hidden in Zee’s dress, gunplay and the club’s bar to make the action reveal character as well as skill. Spoilers for the sequence follow.
How does the nightclub fight introduce Zee?
Zee, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, approaches her target at a nightclub by dancing. The performance is more than atmosphere: it helps draw his attention while concealing the sword she assembles from her dress. Once the fight begins, Zee refuses to kill a witness to the violence. That choice turns her into a target and shifts the scene from an assignment into a fight for survival.
Emmanuel described Zee’s use of dance and how others perceive her as part of the character’s tactics: “Zee’s first weapon was her sexuality.” In context, she means that Zee uses the impression she makes to distract her target before bringing a physical weapon into play.
Why does Zee use a sword instead of a gun?
Woo said he wanted the sequence to surprise viewers who might expect an assassin to reach for a gun. He credited writer Brian Helgeland with proposing swords, then said he asked the costume designer for a dress that could hide the blade. The reveal links the costume to the action: the weapon is concealed until Zee is ready to use it.
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The fight does not abandon guns. Smrz said Woo wanted the sword sequence, while the team also wanted to retain Woo’s characteristic gun work without letting firearms dominate. Emmanuel explained that the weapons give Zee ways to manage distance against larger opponents and options if she risks being overpowered. The combination lets the scene shift between close-range sword fighting and gun handling rather than relying on one mode of combat.
How did Nathalie Emmanuel prepare for the fight?
Emmanuel said training for the sequence began about six weeks before filming. She described a solid month of near-daily stunt rehearsals lasting three or four hours a day. The work covered conditioning, fight techniques, kicks, punches, rolls and gun handling, as well as building confidence while moving and fighting close to partners.
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She compared stunt choreography to dance choreography: both depend on learning and repeating movement. But fighting with partners brought a distinct demand for spatial awareness and confidence at close range. Emmanuel’s dance background and flexibility helped with some movements; she also had to learn physical skills that were new to her.
Smrz estimated in the interview that Emmanuel performed about 85 percent of her stunts in the film. That figure is his estimate, not an independently verified production statistic. Woo praised her dedication and the elegance of her movement, saying she seemed “on another level.” Emmanuel, for her part, said, “I love using my body in this way in storytelling. It’s so much fun.”
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How does the choreography use the nightclub?
Smrz described the blocking as a sequence of tactical choices, not action laid over an interchangeable room. After the first attack, the other men scatter. Zee uses the bar for cover because the club offers few places to hide, but she cannot simply stay behind it: she has to keep moving and attacking. As Smrz put it, “Every step has a purpose.”
The bar therefore serves both as protection and as a constraint. The room’s limited cover pushes Zee to keep changing position, while the choreography makes the audience track how she uses the space against multiple opponents. Together, concealment, distance and cover turn the setting into part of the fight’s logic.
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What the three accounts emphasize
- Emmanuel, the performer: preparation, the physical demands of fighting close to partners, and Zee’s use of dance and perception as misdirection.
- Woo, the director: surprise, the concealed sword and the elegance of Emmanuel’s performance.
- Smrz, the stunt coordinator: the balance of swords and guns, the tactical use of the bar and purposeful movement through the room.
These are the participants’ accounts of how the sequence was conceived and performed; they offer complementary perspectives on why its action works as character storytelling.
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