For His Iconic Death Scene in 'Speed,' Jeff Daniels Took Inspiration One of Steven Spielberg's Greatest Movies
For his death scene in Speed, Jeff Daniels was inspired by this iconic moment in Steven Spielberg's Jaws.
1994 was a great year for Jeff Daniels. Not only was he finally getting to show everyone just how funny he was as alongside Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber, but he also got to play the buddy cop partner to Keanu Reeves in Speed. In Dumb and Dumber, Daniels is the co-lead, but in Speed he has more of a supporting role because his character dies in an explosion from a bomb set off by the film's villain, played by Dennis Hopper. The death of Daniels' character, Harry Temple, took Speed from being a fun action movie to something more emotional, and part of that impact comes from how Harry responds just before the bomb goes off. It's now regarded as one of Jeff Daniels' finest acting scenes, but in reality, all he did was steal his facial expressions from Roy Scheider and how he reacted to seeing the shark in Jaws.
