Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock recall stunt experience in "Speed" at 30th anniversary reunion

In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the 1994 blockbuster Speed, stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock reunited with director Jan de Bont to reflect on the iconic action film during an event at Beyond Fest. The reunion, which thrilled fans of the high-octane movie, revealed some behind-the-scenes details of the film's intense stunts, with one particular scene feeling a bit too real for its actors.

Reeves, who played LAPD officer Jack Traven in the film, recalled a moment when the actors were caught off guard by a chaotic stunt. “Don’t you remember that day on the bus?” Reeves asked Bullock, according to IndieWire. “We were crashing through all the cars on the street, and I remember we were a little under-informed. We were all on the bus, driving down by San Diego, and suddenly, we’re actually hitting cars. Boom! Boom! Everyone lost their mind—people were screaming.”

Bullock, who portrayed Annie Porter, added to the story, sharing that although she earned her Santa Monica bus driver’s license for the role, she never actually drove the vehicle during filming. “It’s not an easy vehicle to maneuver,” she noted, adding, “I was at the helm of the bus, but someone was driving along the roof. I was being careened into whatever Jan [de Bont] felt I needed to smash into.”

In Speed, Reeves and Bullock’s characters work together to prevent a bomb from detonating on a city bus that will explode if its speed drops below 50 mph. The film also starred Dennis Hopper, Jeff Daniels, and Alan Ruck, and became an action classic. While Bullock returned for the 1997 sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control, Reeves did not reprise his role, and the film was led by Jason Patric.

When asked about the possibility of another sequel, Bullock expressed doubts about whether Hollywood would take on such a challenge today. "It would require a lot from everybody. I don’t know if we’re in an industry anymore that’s willing to tolerate it and be brave enough to do it,” she said, adding that only if Jan de Bont could bring his vision to life would she consider it. “I don’t know what we could do that would be good enough for the audience.”

The 30th-anniversary reunion of Speed offered fans a nostalgic look back at one of the most thrilling action films of the 90s, with its legacy continuing to captivate audiences.