The 1994 action thriller Speed starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock was a turning point for both its leading stars. While it helped establish Reeves as an action star, the movie served as a breakthrough for Bullock, who reportedly took her role in the movie very seriously. The movie follows a bus rigged with a bomb that would go off if its speed falls below 50 miles per hour.
It features several action sequences that were very dangerous to execute at the time. However, the cast of the film was fully committed to their action sequences, so much so that one of its lead stars, Bullock, even went on to take bus driving lessons before filming for the movie started.
Sandra Bullock Learned How to Drive a Bus For Speed
Speed features Keanu Reeves as a bomb disposal officer, Jack Traven, and Sandra Bullock as Annie Porter. During one of the sequences of the movie, The Lost City actress takes the wheel after the bus driver and Annie’s friend, Sam, is shot accidentally.
Although she was not required to, Bullock took bus driving lessons to prepare for her role in the movie. However, even after spending her time taking the lessons, she was reportedly not allowed to do the driving while filming the movie, and it was under the control of an unseen stunt driver, according to Screenrant.
The actress also went on to take a Los Angeles bus driving test for real while promoting the movie and passed it. While she did not really drive the bus in the movie, the bus driving lessons helped her authentically portray the character in the film.
Jack And Annie Were Expected to be Married in the Sequel
Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves’ 1994 film was a critical and commercial success, and soon the studio announced a sequel for the movie. The original cast of the film was expected to reprise their respective roles in the sequel before Reeves stepped out, as he did not find the sequel’s story as appealing as the first film.
This led to Jason Patric joining The Proposal star in the sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control. However, before Patric joined the sequel, the makers had some plans for the Speed stars. Jack and Annie would have still been together, and reports suggested that the sequel was expected to open with them getting married.
However, The Matrix star declined the offer to reprise his role, believing that the script was not up to the mark. The sequel went on to be a box-office bomb and was highly criticized. Bullock has even said that it’s one of the movies she wished she had not done.
Speed is available on Peacock TV.
