The death-defying action sequences that are highlights of hardcore action films are made even more exciting by many actors like Tom Cruise who have always insisted on performing their own stunts. But the Mission Impossible star isn’t the only celebrity with a penchant for taking risks. Over the years, there have been many unforgettable scenes in films that are remembered today for the stars who chose to court danger themselves.
Keanu Reeves, like Tom Cruise, is a veteran when it comes to true blue action thrillers. From films like Speed, The Matrix series, and the John Wick franchise, Reeves has left no stone unturned to ensure that audiences are treated to thrilling and realistic visuals by performing his own stunts in most of his films. But one paticular scene from his cult film Speed landed up being an extremely difficult challenge for the star.
Keanu Reeves Had A Difficult Time While Filming An Action Sequence in Speed
Keanu Reeves is popular not just for his arresting personality, but also for his flair for action in his films. The star has been popularly known to do his own stunts in many of his projects including The Matrix series and the John Wick franchise. But courting danger did not come naturally to the star by his own confession. Reeves recalled a memorable scene from his cult film Speed in which his cop character had to jump from a Jaguar to a moving bus. This extremely well-executed segment was ultimately performed by a stuntman for the final take. But Reeves, after some convincing, tried to perform the movement himself during rehearsals. Remembering the adrenaline rush, the celebrity said,
“The shot in the film is a stuntman, but I got to do it once. The stunt coordinator Gary Hymes really took care of me and came up with inventive ways of putting me in those situations. Through harnessing, he got me under the bus at 30 mph.”
Despite the reluctance in his initial days to try his own stunts, the love for action grew on Keanu Reeves as time went on which resulted in the actor doing many of his own action sequences in his future films.
Keanu Reeves Is The Undisputed Franchise King
While Speed got the ball rolling for Keanu Reeves as an action star, the celebrity cemented his place among the bigwigs of the action world with the sci-fi thriller The Matrix. Reeves played a computer programmer named Neo who fights a dystopian war against machines in a virtual world. The Matrix and its sequels went on to become pioneers in the sci-fi genre, while also making Reeves one of the most bankable and successful action stars in the industry.
The celebrity is now officially the highest-earning actor of any franchise, beating out heavyweight counterparts like Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible series and veteran action superstar Bruce Willis in the Die Hard series. As per the latest reports, the 56-year-old actor has made a whopping $156 million in total from the franchise. Willis and Cruise’s net worth from both their franchises amounted to a little over $100 million, making the Speed star the undisputed king of franchise filmmaking.
Source: Huffington Post
