Jordan Karlesson
Sandra Bullock turned down the chance to appear in The Matrix, as we told you earlier today. But who else was in the running?
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Will Smith Blows It
According to a February 2007 report from Empire, Will Smith didn’t commit because he was too skeptical of the new technology over which the Matrix creators salivated.
He later added: “That’s probably the only one that I turned down that I shouldn’t have, but when you see somebody do it like Keanu you think, ‘Thank God.’ I don’t think I was mature enough as an actor at that point to get out of the way and just let it be and allow the directors to make the movie. I would have been trying to make jokes. Now I would have loved to take a shot and see what I would have done with it and I know now I could absolutely have been mature enough to get out the way. But back then I don’t think I was.”
(Editor’s Note: If Will Smith had clinched the role, one assumes the Matrix screenwriters would’ve changed the name of the main villain to anything but “Mr. Smith.”)
Smith reportedly admitted in a brutally honest interview answer why he passed on the role.
“I didn’t think they could do it,” Smith said. “It was too ambitious. The Matrix is exactly what [the Wachowskis] pitched, but they were designing those cameras to get those freeze-frames, and I was like, ‘If that doesn’t work, the movie looks ridiculous.’ I didn’t feel comfortable with the level of importance placed on that effect working properly.”
Nic Cage Out of the Running Too
Also up for the gig was none other than Nicolas Cage — who, it seems, studio executives considered for just about every major action blockbuster back then. But he dropped out of the running, giving the stock answer of “family obligations.”
To its credit, Warner Bros. didn’t lower its standards as it continued searching for a major talent to sport Neo’s famous shades and black trench coat. (By the way, both clothing items are for sale on Amazon under the nicknames “Matrix Neo Sunglasses” for $14.99 and “Neo Matrix Heavy Duty Cotton Keanu Reeves Black Gothic Cosplay Trench Coat” for $120.)
The Actor Matrix Makers Wanted for Neo (and It’s Not Keanu)
In April 2004, Matrix music composer Don Davis shed some light about high-profile actors turning down the role of Neo.
Davis revealed that the Wachowskis wanted Johnny Depp, more than any other actor, to play Neo.
“Warner Bros. was going for this thing where they didn’t want Johnny Depp, they wanted Brad Pitt or Val Kilmer,” he continued. “They told Larry and Andy if Brad Pitt would do the picture, they’d green light it right then. After Kilmer and Brad Pitt said no, Warner Bros. was willing to consider Johnny Depp, so it sort of came down to between Johnny Depp and Keanu Reeves, who Warner Bros. was pushing.
Di Bonaventura lamented: “The first movie star who says yes is Brad Pitt. [He was] doing Seven Years in Tibet. [When he finished making the movie], he … was like, ‘I’m way too exhausted to take this on.’ Then we go to Leonardo [DiCaprio]. He said yes. We [had] meetings with him. [DiCaprio said:] ‘You know, I can’t go do another visual effects movie having just finished Titanic. And he [dropped] out. Then Will Smith joins it and he drops out.”
“Keanu was always really tuned in to the concept,” Davis continued. “a”And that made a big difference for [the Wachowskis]. I think it was a brilliant choice,” he said. “Gary Oldman was considered as Morpheus at one point, and Samuel Jackson as well. For Trinity, I think they were generally looking at lesser-known names for that character.”
