The Matrix almost had a very different cast. Will Smith was approached to play Neo and Sean Connery was approached to play Morpheus. Janet Jackson came close to clinching the role of Trinity, but she had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts. With these original choices in the roles, The Matrix would still have been a star-studded movie. But the final film has an all-star line-up, and all the right people ended up playing each part. The cast of The Matrix trilogy started off with a bunch of A-listers and only gained more stars from there.

Keanu Reeves As Neo

Date Of Birth: September 2, 1964

Active Since: 1984

Actor: Keanu Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and first broke out with his role as Matt in River’s Edge. Reeves is best known for playing Ted “Theodore” Logan in the Bill & Ted franchise and the titular assassin in the John Wick franchise. Reeves’ other action movie roles include LAPD Officer Jack Traven in Speed and FBI Agent Johnny Utah in Point Break. He also gave more dramatic performances as Scott Favor in My Own Private Idaho and Le Chevalier Raphael Danceny in Dangerous Liaisons.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Reeves leads the cast of The Matrix trilogy as a computer programmer named Thomas Anderson, better known by his alias “Neo.” Neo is brought out of the Matrix and into the real world because he’s believed to be the prophesized “The One,” who will end the war between the humans and the machines. By the end of the movie, Neo fulfills this prophesy and prepares to liberate humanity from their cybernetic overlords.

Laurence Fishburne As Morpheus

Date Of Birth: July 30, 1961

Active Since: 1972

Actor: Laurence Fishburne was born in Augusta, Georgia, and got his big break with the role of Tyrone “Mr. Clean” Miller in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now. He further rose to prominence when he played Jason “Furious” Styles in Boyz n the Hood and Ike Turner in What’s Love Got to Do with It. More than a decade after The Matrix trilogy ended, Fishburne reunited with Reeves to play “The Bowery King” in the John Wick franchise.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: In The Matrix trilogy, Fishburne plays Morpheus, the leader of a resistance group fighting back against the machines. Morpheus is the captain of the Nebuchadnezzar and becomes a mentor to Neo. In The Matrix Resurrections, the role was recast with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II taking over.

Carrie-Anne Moss As Trinity

Date Of Birth: August 21, 1967

Active Since: 1989

Actor: Carrie-Anne Moss was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and she first broke out with her role in The Matrix. She went on to play Caroline Clairmont in Chocolat, Claudia Wolf in Silent Hill: Revelation, and Natalie in Christopher Nolan’s psychological thriller Memento. On TV, Moss played Indara in the Star Wars series The Acolyte and Jeri Hogarth across a handful of Marvel Television shows produced for Netflix, including Jessica Jones.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Moss plays Morpheus’ first mate, Trinity, in The Matrix trilogy. Trinity is Neo’s love interest who inspires him to embrace his destiny as “The One.” The Matrix Resurrections later revealed that Trinity is a part of “The One” prophesy along with Neo.

Hugo Weaving As Agent Smith

Date Of Birth: April 4, 1960

Active Since: 1981

Actor: Hugo Weaving was born in Ibadan, British Nigeria, and landed his first major role as English cricket captain Douglas Jardine in the Australian TV series Bodyline. He rose to prominence in Australian cinema, playing Martin in Proof and Mitzi Del Bra in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Weaving has since crossed over into Hollywood blockbuster roles with performances as Elrond in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the eponymous character in V for Vendetta, Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger, and Megatron in the Transformers movies.

Notable Movies & TV Shows:

Character: Weaving plays Agent Smith, the main villain of The Matrix trilogy. Smith and the other Agents are computer viruses doing the machines’ bidding within the Matrix. The role was taken over by Jonathan Groff in The Matrix Resurrections.

The Matrix Trilogy ing Cast & Characters

Gloria Foster / Mary Alice as The Oracle: The Oracle, a sapient program capable of seeing every decision made within the Matrix, was initially played by Gloria Foster in the first two movies. In The Matrix Revolutions, after Foster had sadly ed away, the role was recast with Mary Alice. Foster is best known for playing Camille Bell in the 1985 miniseries The Atlanta Child Murders; Alice is best known for playing Lettie Bostic in the sitcom A Different World.

Joe Pantoliano as Cypher: Joe Pantoliano plays Cypher, who betrays his crewmates to the Agents, in the first Matrix movie. Pantoliano is best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of Ralph Cifaretto in The Sopranos. He also played Teddy Gammell in Memento and Captain Conrad Howard in the Bad Boys franchise.

Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe: Niobe, the captain of the Logos, is played by Jada Pinkett Smith. Pinkett Smith is best known for voicing Gloria in the Madagascar movies. She also played Carla Purty in The Nutty Professor and Ronnie in Menace II Society.

Harold Perrineau as Link: Harold Perrineau plays Link, the pilot of the Nebuchadnezzar, who takes over from Tank and Dozer in The Matrix Reloaded. Perrineau is most renowned for his role as Michael Dawson in Lost. He also played Mercutio in Romeo + Juliet, Augustus Hill in Oz, and Sheriff Boyd Stevens in From.

Randall Duk Kim as the Keymaker: Randall Duk Kim plays the Keymaker in The Matrix Reloaded. Kim is the co-founder of the American Players Theatre and the voice of Master Oogway in the Kung Fu Panda franchise.

Lambert Wilson as the Merovingian: The Merovingian, one of the oldest programs in the Matrix who provides a safe haven for exiled programs, is played by Lambert Wilson. Wilson has also played George Hedare in Catwoman, Yves Massarde in Sahara, and Marquis de Chassagne in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris.

Monica Bellucci as Persephone: The Merovingian’s resentful wife, Persephone, is played by Monica Bellucci in The Matrix sequels. Bellucci is best known for playing Alex in Irréversible, Mary Magdalene in The ion of the Christ, and Betelgeuse’s ex-wife Delores in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Her role as Lucia Sciarra in Spectre made her the oldest Bond girl in the franchise’s history.

The Matrix

Movie(s)

The Matrix 5

Cast

Priyanka Chopra Jonas

First Film

The Matrix

Character(s)

Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, Agent Smith, Niobe, The Merovingian, The Oracle, The Architect, Seraph, Persephone, Ramachandra, Sati, The Analyst, Bugs, The Keymaker

Video Game(s)

Enter the Matrix (2003), The Matrix: Path of Neo (2005), The Matrix Online (2005)

Comic Release Date

213024,213027

The Matrix is a sci-fi action franchise that launched with the Wachowskis' 1999 film. It depicts a dystopian future where humanity is unknowingly trapped in a simulated reality by sentient machines. The protagonist, Neo, discovers this truth and that he is "The One," a being that will lead a rebellion against the machines and restore freedom to humanity.

Expand Collapse