Keanu Reeves has drawn critical acclaim for his extraordinary work in several iconic multi-genre projects and has established his incredibly successful acting career on the strengths of his acting intellect. The actor has a knack for taking on strong and physically challenging roles on the silver screen. The Canadian native star landed a breakout role in the 1999 science fiction action film The Matrix. He played Neo (a computer hacker).
His performance and excellent plot of the movie earned critical acclaim and immense love and praise from fans and critics alike, and the film spawned into one of the highest-grossing franchises of all time. However, film producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura once revealed that Sandra Bullock was initially offered the role of Neo in the film before Reeves took the part.
Sandra Bullock Was Offered a Role of Neo in Keanu Reeves Movie
Keanu Reeves has been ruling the silver screen with his charismatic personality. In the past few years, his films have received immense love from fans and earned impressive numbers at the box office, making him one of the highest-grossing stars in showbiz.
Reeves has starred in dynamic roles, like the computer hacker Neo. He effectively and effortlessly played the depth of his character in The Matrix and continued to play his part in the followed-up sequels of the beloved franchise.
However, the film producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura once made a shocking revelation that before the Speed movie star hailed for his version of Neo in the movie, they considered several stars for this part.
Bonaventura claimed that Warner Bros. wanted big names for the lead role, after which they offered it to Sandra Bullock, but she reportedly turned it down. It would have been a gender-flipped project if Bullock had portrayed Keanu Reeves’ role in the franchise.
Why Did Sandra Bullock Turn Down The Role in The Matrix?
Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves are phenomenal stars who have starred together in some of the iconic films. However, The Lake House movie actor nearly lost one of the best films of his career to his on-screen co-star Bullock if she had taken his part in The Matrix franchise. In a candid interview, Lorenzo di Bonaventura told The Wrap,
“We went out to so many people I don’t remember. We were getting desperate. We went to Sandy Bullock and said, ‘We’ll change Neo to a girl.’ [Producer] Joel Silver and I worked with Sandy on Demolition Man, and she was and continues to be a very good friend of mine.”
Bonaventura continued,
“It was pretty simple. We sent her the script to see if she was interested in it. And if she was interested in it, we would try to make the change. It just wasn’t something for her at the time. So really, it didn’t go anywhere.”
Despite considering several big names like Brad Pitt, Will Smith, and Sandra Bullock, the casting directors finally cast Keanu Reeves in the movie. The Wachowskis directorial 1999 The Matrix was a massive hit and grossed $460 million at the global box office.
The film was the first installment in the franchise and had an all-star-studded ensemble cast that includes: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano.
The Matrix is available for streaming on HBO Max.
Source: The Wrap
