20 Things You Didn't Know About Speed

The early-to-mid 90s saw a rise of physical specimens trying to be actors. Theatres were packed for the summer rollouts of movies from muscleheads Steven Seagal, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme. Needless to say, the market was oversaturated, leading to heaps of direct-to-video knock-offs of lesser leading men.

And so the material was deemed worthy enough for such an thespian: Jeff Speakman. When the initial script for Speed was first making rounds, it was intended as a boost to the C-grade martial artist who only had a handful of films to his credit. Speed was almost the first in a three-picture deal with the actor with Paramount, but it fell through.

Speakman is not a name anyone who didn't peruse the direct-to-video trash at their local blockbuster in the early-to-mid 90s should know off the cusp, but that the studio invested enough interest to engage in a potential three-picture deal certainly gives one a sense of the cinematic landscape of the era.