Keanu Reeves says they actually smashed into cars when making Speed: ‘People were screaming’

‘We were set by the ocean, and all of a sudden, we’re actually hitting cars. Boom! Boom!’

Keanu Reeves has revealed that he and Sandra Bullock actually hit cars while they were driving the bus in the hit 1990s blockbuster Speed.

The film, which marks its 30th anniversary this year, sees Bullock and Reeves, as a passenger and LAPD cop respectively, drive a bus through Los Angeles which is rigged to explode if it’s speed drops below a certain number.

Reeves, who has recently tried his own hand at motor racing, was speaking alongside Bullock and director Jan de Bont at Beyond Fest on Tuesday, and recalled that they were a “little under informed” when the bus was on the move.

As reported by IndieWire, Reeves said: “When we were crashing through all the cars on the street? I remember we were a little under-informed. We were all on the bus and then we were driving down by San Diego or something.

He added: “We were set by the ocean, and all of a sudden, we’re actually hitting cars. Boom! Boom! Everyone on their bus lost their mind. People were screaming.”

Despite this, Bullock did confirm that she didn’t actually do any driving in the movie as “it’s not an easy vehicle to manoeuvre” but she “did get my Santa Monica bus driver’s licence”.

So who was driving the bus? Bullock revealed: “The fun part was that I was at the helm of the bus, but in the back, there was someone driving along the roof. Someone was driving, and I was being careened into whatever Jan [de Bont] felt I needed to smash into.”

The 1994 film became a huge box office success that summer, making more than $350m (£268m) worldwide, far exceeding its $30m (£23m) budget.

The success of Speed did spawn a sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control, replacing a bus with a cruise ship and is largely considered to be one of the worst sequels ever, which Bullock says she is still “embarassed” about.

Reeves did not return for that film, stating in 2021: “I really wanted to work with Sandra Bullock, I loved playing Jack Traven, and I loved Speed, but an ocean liner? I had nothing against the artists involved, but at that time I had the feeling it just wasn’t right.”

When asked about the possibility of making another Speed movie, Bullock said: ““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. Maybe I could be wrong. … If [Jan de Bont] can’t make [what’s in his brain] for the audience, then he’s failed… I don’t know what we could do that would be good enough for the audience.”

Keanu Reeves Sandra Bullock (Getty)

Speed wasn’t the last time that Reeves or Bullock worked together. In 2006 the reunited to star in the fantasy romance drama The Lake House.