Sandra Bullock got a real bus license for “Speed”: 'It's not an easy vehicle to maneuver'

The actress reunited with director Jan de Bont and costar Keanu Reeves for the film's 30th anniversary.

Sandra Bullock's commitment to the job hit overdrive when she was cast in Speed.

Appearing alongside director Jan de Bont and costar Keanu Reeves at a special 30th anniversary film screening and Q&A at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood earlier this week, Bullock recalled the joys of being behind the wheel and said she got an actual bus driver's license.

Related: Keanu Reeves was in charge of making sure Sandra Bullock's skirt didn't fly up during Speed stunt

“The fun part was that I was at the helm of the bus, but in the back there was someone driving it on the roof as I was being careened into whatever Jan thought I needed to smash into that day,” said Bullock. “I did get my Santa Monica bus driver's license. I did! It’s not an easy vehicle to maneuver. But you felt it was better that way because you didn’t know what was coming. You just felt the impact.” 

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Bullock was a newcomer to Hollywood at the time of her casting in the action-packed thriller. She shared a theory on why de Bont and co. opted to cast her as a newbie: “‘Cause if you killed me, I wasn’t a big actor at the time,” the Oscar winner joked, predicting the headlines at the time: “It would’ve been, ‘Actor dies in stunt in a Keanu Reeves movie.’”

Jokes aside, Bullock was just thrilled to be there. “I was the new kid on the block,” she recalled, calling it “nerve-racking.” But “I was happy to be there,” she said. “I was excited. I didn't think I'd be getting the job. The only reason I got this job is because I was fought for.”

She then quipped, “Well other people turned it down, and then—”

“No, no, no, no,” de Bont interjected as the theater filled with laughter.

Related: Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock pitch idea for Speed 3: 'The geriatric version'

“There were other people ahead of me!” said Bullock.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” de Bont said, prompting more laughter, before he added “No, no, no, when I saw you, I knew you would be the driver.”

The 1994 blockbuster hit follows Reeves’ Los Angeles police officer Jack Traven as he races against the clock to prevent a city bus full of passengers, including Bullock's spunky Annie who ends up behind the wheel, from blowing up after it's rigged with a bomb by vengeful extortionist Howard Payne (the late Dennis Hopper). Staged as part of Beyond Fest, the reunion between de Bont and his leading stars marked the first time the trio have shared the stage to discuss the film since its release.

Related: Keanu Reeves was in charge of making sure Sandra Bullock's skirt didn't fly up during Speed stunt

De Bont marveled at his leading stars’ enduring chemistry. “When I saw the movie here [tonight], I’ve never been so proud of those two actors," he said. "What they did for me — quite often unnatural to them what they had to do — is just unbelievable. The relationship that these two created together is absolutely amazing. Seeing them back on the screen tonight, it was so realistic. They were absolutely perfect. All the emotions were right, all the laughing was right, all the smiling, the little smooching. It was really, really cool. I had to tell them how great they both were.”

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