20 Things You Didn't Know About Speed
15. Jan De Bont Was Insistent On Casting Keanu Reeves
The role of Jack Traven passed through several different actors. At the time, Stephen Baldwin was the first choice, though the actor felt the script was too quippy, likening it to John McClane in Die Hard before he reclined in his living room and went back to regret not being Alec.
Other actors that were considered in the early days included Tom Hanks, Woody Harrelson, Tom Cruise and Wesley Snipes. But De Bont had recently seen Reeves' turn in Point Break and saw something in the actor few did at the time - femininity. The director felt that Reeves, though certainly a romantic lead, would not intimidate the male audience.
So insistent was he that he remain clean-cut, he was adamant that Reeves keep the police officer buzzcut that such a character would maintain, much to the studio's chagrin, who threatened to halt production until Reeves let it grow out. De Bont held his ground, claiming the hair represented straight-arrow cop more accurately than anything not regulation.