Keanu Reeves managed to help save the script for Speed with a very simple suggestion, proving there is absolutely nothing he can’t do.
The Hollywood icon starred as SWAT bomb disposal expert Jack Tavern in the 1994 action flick, sharing the screen with Sandra Bullock as Annie Porter.
The blockbuster, directed by Jan de Bont, saw Jack attempting to keep a bus traveling above 50 miles per hour to avoid a bomb detonating, with Joss Whedon brought in to help tighten the script up.
In a new chat with the Hollywood Reporter, Joss revealed that Keanu helped him understand his character better with one small nugget he got from his own research, which completely unlocked the dialogue.
‘[Reeves] talked about [doing research for the role by hanging out] with the SWAT guys and how they were unfailingly polite,’ he told the outlet. ‘[He said that] they’re only about defusing the situation, they call everybody “sir or ‘ma’am”. It was like “click” – that was it. I understand this character now.
‘My take on it was: He wasn’t a hot shot, he was a lateral thinker. He was going to do what felt right and have an odd approach to it, but generally speaking, it would work out. That “sir or ma’am” gave me so much, because bluster [in action movie heroes] was the order of the day and this was the opposite.’
Speed was released in 1994 with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in the main roles (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
Keanu shared some helpful tips for the script behind the scenes (Picture: 20th Century Fox)
Joss recalled that there was also a change Keanu requested that ended up being kept in the final cut.
He added: ‘He also said, “I don’t want to pull my gun.” And I was like, “I don’t want you to either, but you kind of have to. … [The studio is] not going to let you not pull your gun.”’
Well, he tried…
Speed went on to become a huge success, with the sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control, hitting the big screen in 1997.
Keanu didn’t reprise his role in the Cruise Control sequel (Picture: Getty)
Although Sandra reprised her role as Annie, Keanu declined the opportunity to return, and Jason Patric was instead written into the script.
During an appearance on the Graham Norton Show in 2021, the John Wick lead touched on why he stepped back from the blockbuster.
‘At the time I didn’t respond to the script,’ he told the host. ‘I really wanted to work with Sandra Bullock, I loved playing Jack Traven, and I loved Speed, but an ocean liner?
‘I had nothing against the artists involved, but at that time I had the feeling it just wasn’t right.’
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We are not worthy of Keanu Reeves.