Sandra Bullock Says She Is ‘In Awe’ Of Keanu Reeves — Reveals His Thoughtful Gift To Her 27 Years Ago

Feb 23, 2022

Keanu Reeves is a Canadian actor who started off his career by working in theater productions and in television films. His debut film role came in 1986 with the movie “Youngblood.” Reeves gained popularity with the comedy “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” in 1989 and has returned for all of the sequels. He was the recipient of critical acclaim for his performance in “My Own Private Idaho” alongside his friend River Phoenix. A master of many genres, Reeves is also an action star and showed off his talents in “Point Break,” “The Matrix,” and “John Wick.”

Reeves was born on September 2, 1964, in Beirut, Lebanon. His mother is English and his father, who left when he was three, is Hawaiian. Reeves grew up in Toronto, Canada, and attended four different high schools before leaving entirely to focus on becoming an actor when he was 17. When he was 20 he obtained a green card through his American stepfather and moved to Los Angeles.

In 1994, Reeves starred in the action film “Speed” alongside Sandra Bullock. He played the role of police officer Jack Traven, who is tasked with preventing a bus from exploding by keeping it at a steady speed above 50 mph. During the filming of “Speed,” River Phoenix passed away from a drug overdose and the shooting schedule for the film was altered so Reeves had time to mourn the loss of his friend. 

During that time, Bullock got to know Reeves better and learned that he is a great listener and an even better friend. He once brought her champagne and truffles to her home simply because she had never tried them before. Read on to learn more details from this touching story.

Bullock was present when Reeves was processing the loss of his friend during the filming of “Speed.” She shared with Esquire, “I watched how Keanu grieved. And oh, did he grieve for his friend. He’s very private, but he couldn’t hide that. And just to see that a man like that was able to grieve. And I remember thinking, God, if that’s the tip of the iceberg of his depth, and his level of love and care for a friend—that just draws you in.”

The actress enjoyed her time with Reeves so much that she said she would love to work with him again. “I would love nothing more than to do a comedy with Keanu before we die. Just laugh with him. He’s funny. We can be seventy-five—it’ll be even better then, like an old-people “Cocoon” thing. We play two funny old people. A road trip. Just put us in an RV as old people. It’ll be the bookend of “Speed.” We’ll just be driving really slowly. Pissing the world off. There’s our movie,” Bullock said. 

Reeves is unique in that he is a sensitive soul that always gives people the opportunity to speak and feel heard. “He’s a listener,” Bullock stated. “And it drives. People. Crazy.”

While there was never a romantic relationship between Bullock and Reeves, the actress did say, “But who knows? Keanu’s a guy who, I feel like, is friends with every woman he’s ever dated. I don’t think there’s anyone who has something horrible to say about him. So maybe we could have survived. I don’t know.”

Bullock added, “But we didn’t have to survive anything. We just get to grow up together on parallel roads and tip our hats and meet for a dinner and try to work together. And the longer time goes on, the more in awe I am of the human being. Would I have been able to say that if he had dumped me and made me angry? Probably not.”

One fond memory Bullock has of Reeves is when he brought her champagne and truffles because she shared that she had never tried them before. One day while she was at home painting her nails with her friend, Reeves showed up at her door and said: “I just thought you might want to try champagne and truffles, to see what it’s like.”

Bullock was surprised to see him because when she told the story about the champagne and truffles originally, Reeves had stayed silent and didn’t say much in response. Even though he was on his way to a date, Reeves wanted to do something nice for his friend because that is the type of person he is. Bullock explained: 

“That’s what I mean that it drives you crazy. When I first met him, I would spend as much time as I could filling a silence, just to feel comfortable. And the more I jibber-jabbered on, the quieter he would get. And I thought I don’t understand what’s happening! He’s looking at me with eyes of confusion. He’s quiet. Did I say something to offend him? And then a day or two later, he would arrive with a note or a little package, saying, ‘I thought about what you said.’ And he would have his response. How many people do you know like that?”

It may come as a surprise that Reeves and Bullock never dated, and the two actors only found out years later that they had a mutual crush on each other while filming "Speed."

Hollywood Reporter wrote that in 2018, Bullock revealed that she had a crush on Reeves while they filmed the movie. Harper's Bazaar reported that she said,

"I think about how sweet Keanu Reeves was and how handsome he was," while appearing on "The Ellen Degeneres Show," and added, “It was hard for me to really be serious because he would look at me and I’d be like,” she said before breaking out into giggles.

Bullock also added that the pair never dated, so there must have been something about her "that he didn’t like." 

When Reeves was shown this clip while speaking to Degeneres on her show in 2019, he went ahead and revealed,

"She obviously didn’t know that I had a crush on her, either."

This was news to many fans, and it certainly stirred some excitement. However, Reeves went on to explain that he did not tell Bullock about his crush when it happened because both of them were dedicated to their work. For Reeves, the professional relationship came before their (potential) romantic one. However, the actor had only good things to say about Bullock and has consistently done so for the last two decades. 

"It was nice to go to work," Reeves said. "She’s such a wonderful person." Reeves and Bullock have a friendship that many wish for, and for someone as wholesome as this pair, it is wonderful that they have found support in each other. 

What do you think of Reeves’ thoughtful gift for Bullock? Do you know anyone who would do the same? Let us know and be sure to send this along to your loved ones that are fans of the movie “Speed.”