Tom Hanks was reportedly offered the lead role, but declined. Ed Harris was originally going to play Harry (Jack's buddy). Turned down the lead role. Parker Posey auditioned for Speed and didn't get it.
Halle Berry was offered the Sandra Bullock role in "Speed," which would have paired her with Keanu Reeves, though the movie looked pretty different at that point. "I stupidly said no," Berry told Entertainment Tonight.
According to Yost, they had also considered Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Wesley Snipes, and Woody Harrelson. Director Jan de Bont ultimately chose Keanu Reeves to play Jack Traven after seeing him in Point Break. He felt that the actor was "vulnerable on the screen.
In an ironic twist of fate, Depp and Reeves were again in the race for the same role, with Depp being offered the role first. Depp passed on it and the role, and it was given to Keanu Reeves.
20 Celebrities That Ruined Their Careers with One Interview
Was Ellen supposed to be in Speed?
Jeff Bridges and Ellen DeGeneres were intentionally cast as Jack and Annie but that later fell through. Bridges would later be cast as Harry. The role of Jack would eventually go to Keanu Reeves, only accepting after hearing Joss Whedon was brought in as script doctor.
Molly Ringwald Says She Turned Down Julia Roberts' Role in 'Pretty Woman': “I Didn't Really Like the Story” - IMDb. Molly Ringwald is getting candid about finding her way in Hollywood when she was younger, and why she turned down an iconic role in Pretty Woman.
There are no credible reports that Reeves recently rejected a $1.7 million movie offer from Marvel. Representatives for Reeves and Marvel did not respond to requests for comment.
Iwanyk originally envisioned older actors such as Eastwood (then 83-years-old) or Harrison Ford (71-years-old) as John but later opted for an experienced actor rather than an elderly one.
Despite the continuous speculation about their potential romance, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock have maintained a close and supportive friendship over the years.
The film was released by 20th Century Fox on June 13, 1997, to largely negative reviews from critics, who criticized the acting, story, characters, absence of Reeves, and its setting on a slow-moving cruise ship, citing it as less thrilling than that of Speed on a fast-moving bus.
John Travolta was originally offered the role of Forrest Gump, but turned it down to work on Pulp Fiction. Despite turning down roles in successful movies like Forrest Gump, Travolta doesn't feel any regret and is not bitter about his career trajectory.
Barrymore's discernment in script selection proved absurdly beneficial, given that she began her ascent to stardom almost immediately after turning down Showgirls. She appeared in an array of unforgettable roles, cementing her place in the heart of Hollywood and audiences worldwide.
When appearing in an April 1995 edition of Movieline, Berry revealed her reasons for turning down the film and explained that the lack of dialogue in the script was one of the main factors that influenced her decision. “I turned down Speed because I thought, 'I don't want to drive that bus,'” Berry said.
Back in October 2022, Keanu Reeves appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and suggested that the superhero his childhood self would have wanted to play would be Ghost Rider. This led to a massive increase in fan-made art and theories placing Keanu Reeves as Ghost Rider, but this popular choice hasn't yet been confirmed.
While Reeves may not be able to play the McU's own version of Wolverine, he could still appear as a version of Logan in Deadpool 3's multiverse story. Keanu Reeves gets imagined as Wolverine in realistic Marvel art.
Harrison Ford took the lead role in the franchise as the archeologist, but it could've been Tom Selleck. Karen Allen, who played Marion Ravenwood opposite Ford as Indiana Jones, revealed the Friends alum's TV career forced him to turn down the gig. "Tom Selleck had been cast, and then it turned out Magnum P.I.
But although Roberts did ultimately say yes to "Notting Hill," she revealed on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2023 that she turned down another romantic comedy: 1998's "You've Got Mail," released the year before. She has no regrets about passing on this or any other film, though, because "it's all kind of destiny."
Reeves participated wholeheartedly in the stunts for the film, including a very dangerous scene where he jumped from a moving Jaguar convertible into the bus.
Johnathon Schaech and Ellen DeGeneres were photographed looking loved-up on multiple occasions in the mid-90s before the host famously came out as gay in 1997. But as the Legends of Tomorrow actor revealed in his tell-all Ask Me Anything, their relationship was strictly for the cameras.
Why did Annie break up with Jack Traven? Annie broke up with Jack because the relationship didn't work out and also because Jack was crazy and that she found Jack being in LAPD bomb squad and putting his life at risk too much. Is Glenn Plummer's character the same guy he played in the first Speed film?
