It’s no secret that Keanu Reeves almost didn’t star in The Matrix. Quite a few big-name actors passed on the role of Neo before Reeves came on board, including, most famously, Will Smith—who has publicly griped about missing out on the multi-million-dollar franchise. But apparently, there was also a famous actress in contention for the lead role: Sandra Bullock. According to producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura in an interview with The Wrap, the team behind the film was scrambling to get someone cast as Neo in order to get the movie off the ground—and Bullock could have been the star to seal the deal.

“We went out to so many people I don’t remember. We were getting desperate,” di Bonaventura said. “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.”

At the time, the future Oscar-winning actress was a blockbuster mainstay, showing off her range in high-octane fare like Speed (which also co-starred Reeves). However, di Bonaventura said, talks with Bullock went nowhere. “It just wasn’t something for her at the time.”

Reps for Bullock told The Wrap that she didn’t remember the specifics of di Bonaventura’s pitch for The Matrix, but noted that the producer had been supportive of her career. Bullock also added that the role went to the right person (cue the chorus of “awwws”).

Once Reeves was locked, The Matrix went on to become a worldwide hit, grossing $463 million and spawning two sequel films. However, it was a torturous process to get to the big screen, di Bonaventura recalled—not least because when it came time to cast Neo, lead actors kept slipping through the film’s fingers.

“The first movie star who says yes is Brad Pitt,” the producer said. “He’s doing Seven Years in Tibet, and then he’s coming out of it, and he’s like, ‘I’m way too exhausted to take this on.’ So, he’s gone. Then, we go to Leonardo [DiCaprio]. He says yes, we have meetings with him and then he goes, ‘You know, I can’t go do another visual effects movie having just finished Titanic, and he drops out. Then Will Smith joins it, and he drops out.”

Smith talked about turning the role down in a recent YouTube video on his official channel, explaining that he passed in large part because of how the Wachowskis pitched their vision for the movie. “As it turns out, they’re geniuses,” Smith said. “But there’s a fine line in a pitch meeting between genius and what I experienced in the meeting.” He then mimicked the sisters’ pitching style, which, to be fair, made The Matrix sound like an ill-conceived stoner fantasy. But there are no hard feelings, Smith said, noting that “Keanu was perfect” in the finished film.

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