Speed is arguably one of Keanu Reeves’ most booming films ever (pun very much intended), both critically and commercially.
It had everything one would want in a good film, especially a good Reeves film – a storyline brimming with action, the anticipation rising with each scene, and a thrilling culmination of the plot. And let’s not forget how the movie gifted us with the dynamic duo of Reeves and Sandra Bullock.
But for all the good bits, there were some bad ones too. Or at least they were for poor Harry, a character portrayed by Primetime Emmy winner Jeff Daniels in the ’90s classic.
Jeff Daniels Struggled With His Character Being Written Off
In the iconic action feature, Jeff Daniels plays Harry, the steadfast partner of Keanu Reeves‘ Jack Traven who boards a city bus rigged with a bomb that will detonate if the vehicle goes below 50 mph.
If you’ve seen the film, you also know that the bus is the bomber’s second attempt at getting a million-dollar paycheck after his failed elevator plan.
But what you may not know, is that Harry – who meets his tragic end by going inside a house packed with explosives – was initially meant to die in the elevator shaft. The 69-year-old actor, however, was utterly disappointed with the scene, so much so that he almost turned it down altogether. (via The Rich Eisen Show).
I remember getting the script…and I died on page 22. I died in the elevator shaft. I said, you know, ‘The career’s in trouble but it’s not in that much trouble. I’m gonna pass.‘
Thankfully enough, he got a renewed draft of the script wherein his character, though still dies, does so at a much later stage in the film in what would turn out to be perhaps one of the most epic sequences in filmmaking. “It [Harry’s death] came in about page 80,” he said. “I’m going, okay well… All right I’ll do it.”
He Took Inspiration From Steven Spielberg’s Jaws for that Scene
After much toiling in his search for Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper), when Harry – clad in S.W.A.T. gear – finally enters the house in the scene, he turns and looks at the thermostat, only to realize that it is, in fact, a bomb timer. Oof, what a scene. But it was easier said than done.
While they were filming the shot, Daniels recalled being bewildered about what Harry’s reaction could possibly be at that moment.
I finally get in, and the moment in Speed is I’ve got to turn and look at the thermostat and understand that that’s not a thermostat, that’s a timer for a bomb and it’s 3, 2, 1 about to blow up. So I’m going, ‘How am I gonna do that?’ Do I make faces? Do I cry? What do I do?
So, the Dumb and Dumber star did what he deemed best and took inspiration from Steven Spielberg‘s Jaws when Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) saw the giant shark. And what did he do? Easy, he pushed his cheek muscles slightly up before dropping them, just like the sheriff did in the ’70s hit. Voila!
Speed can be rented on Apple TV+.
