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Keanu Reeves starred alongside notable actor Jeff Daniels back in 1994 in one of the most iconic movies of all time,Speed.The movie features Reeves as Jack Traven and Jeff Daniels as his buddy Harry who meets an unfortunate ending during the film.
Well, when the role was initially offered to Daniels, the actor outright refused to play the part. Even though he desperately needed the job at that time, Jeff Daniels stated that he would not take up the role just to die so early on in the film.
Keanu Reeves’ Co-star Jeff Daniels Wanted Screen Time
Jeff Daniels found fame by starring in movies likeDumb and Dumberand managed to stay relevant withThe Martianand many others. But back in 1994, the actor was quite desperate to get his hands on any project that he would be offered and then he heard about Keanu Reeves’ starrerSpeed.
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In an interview, the actor talked about how desperate he was whenSpeedwas offered to him. Portraying the role of Harry in the movie, Jeff Daniels was disappointed when his character met his fate on page 22 of the script. Although being desperate, Daniels refused to lend his talent for such a small role.
“Speed was, ‘Get me a job.’ That’s what Speed was. [My agent] said, ‘Well, we’ve got this script Speed, we’ll send it to you, but you’re dead on page 22. You and Keanu go into this 50-story building and you get in the elevator shaft and fall and die.'”
The actor further continued,
“I said, ‘Well, the career’s in trouble but it’s not in that much trouble, so I’m going to pass.’ And then they said, ‘Hang on, there’s a new draft coming, you die later.’ I said, ‘How much later?’ He goes, ‘About page 88.’ ‘I’m in.’ I did it and lasted all the way until I crawled in through that window into that house and the house blew up. I was lucky they did another draft.”
Well, from dying in an elevator shaft to dying in an explosive-filled house, Jeff Daniels indeed made some progress as his character was indeed quite noticeable in the 1994 movie. The movie was also saved byKeanu Reeveswhose one suggestion changed Joss Whedon’s take on his character.
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Keanu Reeves SavedSpeedWith By Talking To Joss Whedon
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Although Joss Whedon is known for directingThe Avengersback in 2012, he was also called in to enhance dialogues although uncredited. In an interview, Whedon talked about how Keanu Reeves’ one statement helped him understand the character of Jack Traven better and he improved upon the dialogue.
“[He said that] they’re only about defusing the situation; they call everybody ‘sir or ‘ma’am.’ It was like click — that was it. I understand this character now,”
Whedon further continued,
“He wasn’t a hot shot [but] a lateral thinker [who] was going to do what felt right and have an odd approach to it, but generally speaking, it would work out. That ‘sir or ma’am’ gave me so much, because bluster [in action-movie heroes] was the order of the day and this was the opposite,”
In the end, Jeff Daniels got his extended screen time and Hollywood came to know Keanu Reeves as a gentleman. The 1994 movie received a rating of 7.3/10 on IMDB and 95% on Rotten Tomatoes.Speedis available to stream on AMC+ in the U.S.
Source:Entertainment Weekly
Visarg Acharya
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3266
Visarg Acharya is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on movies, with over 3000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past three years and a copywriter at a corporation. Visarg usually covers news and theories on the MCU and the DCU, with an emphasis on Avengers and Superman; Game of Thrones, and more.A Tarantino fan, Visarg, spends his time critiquing various directors’ filmographies and watching them with curiosity. Medieval fantasy like The Lord of the Rings or sci-fi movies like Interstellar, watching the latest horror movies, and listening to Hans Zimmer become his comfort zone. When idle, he can be found reading fantasy novels with a terrible cup of coffee in hand.
