Sandra Bullock is one of the most brilliant and top-notch A-list actresses who has certainly firmed her position in Hollywood by showcasing her multiple talents on the silver screen. Bullock has led a thriving career in showbiz and has had the perks of collaborating with many highly acclaimed and boundary-pushing directors on their blockbuster projects.
The actress began her career in the late 1980s and landed her first breakthrough role in the 1994 American action film Speed opposite Hollywood legend Keanu Reeves. However, she was not the first choice to play the role of Annie Porter, the character initially written as a “No-nonsense African-American paramedic.”
According to reports, before Bullock, Halle Berry was suggested to play the role of Annie Porter. However, she reportedly turned down this golden offer, and the job ultimately went to the 59-year-old actress, who convincingly played this intriguing character.
Halle Berry Nearly Played Sandra Bullock’s Starring Role in Her Film Speed
As reported by Screen Rant, before Sandra Bullock took over the role of Annie Porter in her commercially successful 1994 American action film Speed, another A-list actress was considered to play this epic character. The outlet noted that Halle Berry was approached to play the part, but she reportedly turned down the offer, after which Bullock got the job.
The actress later admitted she passed on the opportunity because of a lack of dialogue and other creative aspects. As reported by Far Out Magazine, the Moonfall movie star revealed the reason behind rejecting this project while appearing in an April 1995 edition of Movieline, saying,
“I turned down Speed because I thought, ‘I don’t want to drive that bus,” adding, “There wasn’t a whole lot of dialogue. What did feel good when I read it, though, was thinking, ‘Okay, this is not my Academy Award-winning role, but here I’m being offered something that wasn’t written for a Black woman. When I watched the finished movie, I loved it, and I thought to myself, ‘The movie gods sure didn’t talk to me that day.’”
Before Sandra Bullock’s epic portrayal of Annie Porter propelled her to global stardom, Halle Berry was initially approached to play this part, but the actress rejected the project.
Graham Yost Claims Sandra Bullock’s Role Was initially Written as an “African-American paramedic”
Graham Yost, who wrote Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves-led film Speed, revealed that Bullock’s character of Annie Porter was written initially as an “African-American paramedic.” On the 20th anniversary of the movie, the award-winning writer told Entertainment Weekly,
“There was one version where she was a driver’s ed teacher, yes. In the first version, she was African-American and a paramedic — I wanted to explain why she could drive so well at high speeds through traffic. You come up with these rationalizations for a character, and you start peeling them back. For one thing, that’s convenient, and even the driver’s ed thing was kind of convenient as well, so she just became a person. One of the ironies was after we made it just whatever this character will be, the first person we went to was Halle Berry, and she was not interested.”
Jan de Bont-directed action thriller film has had a stellar cast ensemble featuring Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton, and Jeff Daniels. The movie received an overwhelming response from the audience and critics upon its release and grossed $350 million at the global box office.
Source: Entertainment Weekly, ScreenRant, Far Out Magazine
