Hollywood star Keanu Reeves has done different kinds of roles in his film career. However, it seems it was not easy to convince him to star in the famous action film Speed. Read on to know the complete story!

Jan de Bont, who made his debut as a director in Speed has revealed that Reeves was scared to do the role. In an interview given to Vulture, the director opened up about why the actor required some convincing to act in the film. De Bont explained that Reeves hated to act in action films. 

The director had a feeling that Reeves was more interested to portray more dramatic roles. It was the actor’s manager who convinced him to accept the offer. De Bont mentioned how Reeves hated to do action sequences and stunts. 

It seems he was scared of doing stunts. The Matrix star was a “happy-go-lucky” person at that time. He had dreams of dramatic theater, the director said. 

De Bont further said that he had to put a lot of effort to make him do the sequences in the film. However, Reeves eventually began to enjoy doing those scenes. When the director showed the actor a few clips, the latter realized what a different thing it was. 

Reeves seemed to be thrilled that audiences would realize that he had done the stunts as it was his face in all those scenes. Towards the end of the film, he started appreciating the action sequences. 

However, the director liked the actor’s apprehension about the action scenes and stunts. He felt Reeve’s fear added an element of reality into those scenes. De Bont wanted an actor who would be forced to be in a situation, which is abnormal to him and Reeves suited his requirements. 

He also shared a few elements, which made the famous bus scenes in Speed so real. He had to cast actors who had enjoyed bus rides in Los Angeles. De Bont wanted people who could sit on the bus for several hours without getting bored. 

He thought he did the right thing as the people he cast did not get bored at all. They chatted with each other and were looking outside the bus. The film had some interested looking actors, according to the directors. He could not have done a better job by selecting professional cast extras. 

The people he cast showed eagerness in what was going on. He managed to get some interesting looking people to do the roles of the passengers in the film, Showbiz Cheat Sheet reports. 

Lastly, Sandra Bullock who was cast opposite Keanu Reeves in the film was driving the bus. So, the reactions the actress gave while certain things occurring around her such as hitting the structures came out as incredibly real, the director said