Sandra Bullock was considered for “The Matrix” before Keanu Reeves bagged the part of Neo, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has revealed.
In an interview with The Wrap, Bonaventura also confirmed they’d considered Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Will Smith.
Bullock starred in the 1994 movie “Speed” alongside Reeves before 1999’s “The Matrix”, which is about to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Bonaventura explained, “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.
“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.”
Bullock would turn down the film because of her schedule.
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Bonaventura shared, “It just wasn’t something for her at the time. So really it didn’t go anywhere.”
Bullock said via a rep that “she didn’t recall the specifics of the pitch” for the film but that the producer had always been supportive of her career. She also said that “ultimately the right person was cast.”
