The pairing of Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves is one that lingered on every fan when they first saw Speed. Two talented actors that shared so much chemistry to be in one movie together was an incredible sight to behold. So it was only natural to also focus on them individually with regard to their growing careers.

Sandra Bullock
Both Bullock and Reeves have done some of the most iconic films and are known to be mega stars in the Hollywood industry. Neither actor is massively disliked, the exact opposite is actually true. Their filmographies are more than impressive and the way they have built their careers can easily be commendable. Ironically enough, one of the most prominent movies in Reeves’ career was first offered to Bullock.

Sandra Bullock Was Given Keanu Reeves’ Most Successful Movie

When The Matrix was still in the early stages of development, there was not a lot that was hopeful for the two up-and-coming directors. The concept was something they were desperately hanging onto the script but not without flexibility. The producer of the film, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, explained that it was not Keanu Reeves that they were first looking for.
Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves
“We were getting desperate. We went to Sandy Bullock and said ‘We’ll change Neo to a girl.’”

According to him, the script was first given to Sandra Bullock. They were hoping eagerly that she would say yes. She was offered the roles of both Trinity, a role later given to Carrie-Anne Moss, and Neo, whose gender would have been swapped had she been interested in the role. However, she was not interested in the script or the concept at that time, and they continued looking for both their leads, only to land on Keanu Reeves afterward.

Sandra Bullock Regretted Saying No To The Matrix

Sandra Bullock admitted that although Carrie-Anne Moss did a splendid job in the role of Trinity, she sometimes wishes she would have said yes to the role and not limited herself to the movies she did at that time. Keanu Reeves was not even the second choice for playing Neo in the movie. The producer admitted that they had first approached Brad Pitt, who had said yes initially, only to say no later on because he was tired after filming Seven Years in Tibet.
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix
The role then went to Leonardo DiCaprio, who denied the role because he was not interested in one more movie that would require visual effects right after Titanic. It famously went to Will Smith afterward and he too was almost cast as the character but had to drop out as well. Ultimately Reeves was chosen to play Neo in The Matrix and that changed his career completely.