Woody Harrelson clearly wasn’t the one actor in line to play Hoyle: Ron Shelton was additionally contemplating up-and-comer Keanu Reeves for the function. It goes with out saying that “White Males Cannot Soar” would have been a really totally different movie with Reeves in Harrelson’s place — however even earlier than he was solid, he was giving the additional mile in his auditions, submitting to weeks of pick-up video games and even attempting out a little bit of improv with Wesley Snipes. Sadly, he and his scene accomplice weren’t fairly on the identical wavelength.

“[Reeves] would improvise and say one thing the place there can be a pure response from me, and I simply left him on the market like soiled laundry,” Snipes recalled to EW. In fact, that is to not say that Snipes value Reeves the function. Shelton later admitted that his hopeful candidate was merely “not a basketball participant,” despite his unbelievable work ethic. On the finish of the day, Harrelson actually was one of the best man for the job:

“Woody and Wesley had magic immediately. Woody’s an important counterpuncher. Wesley may give you a humorous line and Woody may steal the second along with his response. That is the important thing to chemistry and you aren’t getting it fairly often. You want two individuals who cannot do what the opposite one does.”