Complex sentence: De Bont was skeptical of featuring a relatively unknown actor such as Patric, but was reminded by the studio that Bullock and Reeves were also relatively unknown prior to "Speed", and ultimately chose Patric based on his role in "Sleepers" (1996).
Split into simpler sentences: De Bont was skeptical of featuring a relatively unknown actor such as Patric, but was reminded by the studio that Bullock and Reeves were also relatively unknown prior to "Speed". He chose Patric based on his role in "Sleepers" (1996).