Keanu Reeves Was Convinced This '90s Film Would Mark The End Of His Career

Not unlike the action movies he's famous for, Keanu Reeves' career has suffered a number of blows over the years. After becoming a star in the 1980s, Reeves reached new heights with 1994's "Speed." Coming off the massive hit, the actor ran into a series of critical and box office speed bumps, including "Johnny Mnemonic" and "Chain Reaction." But there was one movie misfire the star knew to stay away from; "Speed 2: Cruise Control." While "Speed" was a box office smash that made Reeves an action star, he balked at returning for the 1997 sequel when his co-star Sandra Bullock and director Jan Debont showed up with the script begging him to get on board, telling the New Zealand Herald, "And I said, 'I read the script and I can't. It's called Speed, and it's on a cruise ship.'" 

Not deterred by Reeves' decision, William Mechanic, the head of the studio, reached out to the star with a $12 million offer, but it wasn't enough; "I told him, 'If I do this film, I will not come back up. You guys will send me to the bottom of the ocean and I will not make it back up again. I really felt like I was fighting for my life." Instead, Reeves headed to Canada to join the Manitoba Theatre Centre and play Hamlet. Jason Patric replaced Reeves for "Speed 2," and the movie was a box office disappointment, making just half the original and failing to cover its budget. Looking back on it, Bullock admits to being embarrassed by the movie, telling TooFab, "Makes no sense. Slow boat slowly going toward an island."

Keanu Reeves may have been right to turn down "Speed 2: Cruise Control," but 20th Century Fox Studios seemed to blame him for the movie's failure. According to Reeves, the studio blackballed him, telling GQ, "I didn't work with [Fox] again until 'The Day the Earth Stood Still.'" Between turning down "Speed 2" and making 2008's "The Day the Earth Stood Still," Reeves saw his career hit new heights, thanks in no small part to 1999's "The Matrix." He also reteamed with "Speed" co-star Sandra Bullock for the 2006 romance, "The Lake House," which failed to impress critics but did bring audiences to the theaters, more than making its budget back. And through it all, Reeves was always quietly generous to those he worked with. 

As it turned out, it may have been smart for Reeves to have avoided working with 20th Century Fox again: while "The Day the Earth Stood Still" did well at the box office, it was a critical bomb. Reeves can joke about it now, telling Esquire, "Sometimes I call that The Day my Career Stood Still," but the movie nearly ended his career with the big studios. Reeves spent the next half decade making low budget indie films like "Henry's Crime." When he did get another chance with a big budget, it was "47 Ronin," one of 2013's biggest box office bombs. But Reeves' fortune would change in 2014 when he starred in "John Wick," reminding audiences why they loved seeing him on the big screen and launching a new franchise. Even "John Wick" director Chad Stahelski was amazed by the movie's success, telling Yahoo! Entertainment, "We, honest to God, believed no one was going to see the movie. We thought we were going straight to video."