Jordan Karlesson
Some in that ever-wacky universe known as the Internet believe Sandra Bullock drinks blood. But for those who believe in a little thing called truth, there’s a little-known fact that might actually be even crazier: She once turned down the chance to star in The Matrix.
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Sandra Bullock’s Hollywood Domination
Thirty-five years into her career, Sandra Bullock is still a force to be reckoned with. The Virginia native is a household name and continues capturing many sought-after leading roles at age 58.
Most recently, she appeared in two of this year’s Top 25 highest-grossing movies: Bullet Train and The Lost City. The former has made more than $239 million worldwide. While the latter isn’t too far behind with box office receipts totaling almost $191 million.
In actuality, Sandra Bullock became a reliably bankable star from pretty much Day One.
After a handful of requisite years toiling away in small roles, Bullock cemented her movie star status in 1994. In Speed, she played an in-over-her-head, gee-shucks passenger on a bus that Keanu Reeves spared no death-defying maneuver to save from the dastardly, depraved designs of Dennis Hopper.
Sandra Bullock’s performance in the action flick was so widely beloved by critics and fans that it was her, a supporting character, who led the case of 1997’s sequel, Speed 2: Cruise Control.
Bullock’s romance with audiences everywhere, combined with her natural ease and photogenic appeal onscreen, helped land her roles in a dozen movies that made more than $100 million at the box office. They included The Blind Side (2009), Ocean’s 8 (2018), The Heat (2013), and — of course — Gravity (2013).
But, believe it or not, Sandra Bullock actually would’ve eclipsed all those major star turns had she appeared in one of the biggest movies of the 1990s: The Matrix.
Sandra Bullock Turns Down The Matrix
Rumors about Bullock’s potential involvement in The Matrix became the stuff of legend not long after the sci-fi classic made more than $460 million on a budget of only $63 million.
But it appears the actor didn’t finally discuss what happened until February 2009. When Today.com published an audience Q&A piece called America Asks, Sandra Bullock Answers.
Finally, Bullock addressed The Matrix after a fan asked her, Which role did you really want and not get?”
“There haven’t been any roles that I wanted that I didn’t get, but there was a movie I wish I had done: The Matrix,” Bullock revealed. “At the time [I was approached about it], it wasn’t cast with Keanu [Reeves], and I didn’t see myself with the person they wanted [in it]. Later I saw the movie and loved it. It was sexy and great because of [Trinity actress] Carrie-Anne [Moss] and Keanu.”
Why Did She Do It?
Naturally, there’s more to the story than what Sandra Bullock selectively shared in her back-and-forth with fans.
For starters, Warner Bros. Pictures considered a flood of high-caliber actors when the Wachowskis pitched their idea in the mid-‘90s (as part of a trilogy). It’s almost comical in retrospect to review all the actors who could’ve potentially played Neo, one of the best-known, kick-ass protagonists of the last 30 years.
Meanwhile, Lorenzo di Bonaventura — president of the production at Warner Bros. — made yet another revelation about Neo’s casting a few years back. He revealed in March 2019 that the makers of The Matrix also also approached Sandra Bullock for the role of Neo and considered rewriting the character as a woman.
“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, “Di Bonaventura continued. “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.”
Not only did Sandra Bullock pass on that offer, but she also turned down the chance to play Trinity, a role that Carrie-Ann Moss eventually clinched.
Why Sandra Bullock Didn’t Ink the Deal
ET Canada recently unearthed a video from 2009 in which Bullock seemingly discusses why she didn’t take part in The Matrix. The outlet noted that, at the time she made her comments, most assumed she was talking about why she didn’t play Trinity. In retrospect, it now appears she made her remarks in reference to Neo.
“There haven’t been any roles that I wanted that I didn’t get, but there was a movie I wish I had done: The Matrix,” Sandra Bullock revealed. “At the time, [I was approached about it], it wan’t cast with Keanu, and I didn’t see myself with the person they wanted [in it].”
She humbly concluded: “Later I saw the movie and loved it. It was sexy and great because of Carrie-Anne and Keanu.
