The star talks about being moved by possibility, re-conquering fears, and embodying her director’s heart.
The next chapter in The Matrix saga is finally here, reuniting the franchise’s original stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, who play Neo and Trinity respectively.
In The Matrix Resurrections, director Lana Wachowski presents two realities: everyday life and what lies behind it. To do this, our protagonists must follow the white rabbit once more, and will have to deal with an enemy more dangerous than before.
The studio sat down with Moss to get her thoughts on revisiting this decades-long story.
What did it mean to you, stepping back into the world of The Matrix?
To play Trinity again and to come back into The Matrix, I was so moved by the possibility. I think when Lana first mentioned it to me, we talked on the phone. I never in a million years expected to ever get that phone call. I think I protected my heart a little bit—was it really going to happen?
But, I was so thrilled to be back in that world, in that creative space with her, in that camaraderie with Keanu again—with the friendship that we have—and the opportunity to play this character alongside him as Neo again. I can’t put into words truly how moved I was by the opportunity to do this again.
To do it at this phase in my life with all this life experience, to have raised my beautiful family and to tell my children, “I’m going to do this again…” And they’re like, “What!?” It was quite exciting. And it still is. We’re all thrilled. I’m so excited for the world to see the film. I’m excited to have those conversations about it again, like I did the first time around.
One of the things I love about this movie is all of the different themes that Lana is able to put into her art. How it just makes you think, it makes you open your mind, it makes you see things from a different perspective, it makes you ask questions you’ve never asked before. It’s definitely not just a movie. So yeah, I was thrilled.
What does it mean to re-inhabit probably one of the most iconic, romantic couples in movie history at the stage where you and Keanu are?
I think I have an understanding about it in a way that I was far too naïve and perhaps wide-eyed and young at 30. I was, I guess, kind of mature, but in other ways, not very mature. So, I have all this life experience now coming into it and I really can see.
I got this sense doing the movie again, that I am literally embodying Lana Wachowski’s heart. Like my character is an extension of her heart made into this human flesh—it’s such an honor to get to do that. And I know that I was doing that before, but I didn’t realize it. I didn’t understand it. I knew we were so connected.
And when I would do those scenes in the first Matrix, I could literally hear her talking to me in my mind, in the middle of the scene. It was like we had this code that just kind of ebbed and flowed between us and, this time around, I really felt the way she sees Trinity and Neo: with so much love.
I am so honored that I get to be the physical representation of that. It’s quite neat to get that and understand that. And it’s interesting, because I’ve seen the movie one time. And it can be difficult to watch yourself, right? I’ve gotten older, and all these kinds of like really shallow things can come up the first time for me when I watch a movie.
Even when I was young, it was always difficult. This time, it was not difficult in any way, because it’s not about me. I just feel like my ego or any part of me that could criticize my person is just not existent, because it’s pure love. I see Lana’s heart and I feel like I’m like the conduit to that in a way.
And so, I take that really deeply and I care so much about it. I was really moved by the film, actually. I wept a couple of times in places where I knew the story, I was there, I shot it. And this emotion came through me that didn’t even give me a warning it was coming. It was just like wailing! It was crazy.
And that’s a real sign of not only her gift in storytelling, but her gift in the editing and the music and the layering of all of it. I think when I was younger, I didn’t understand all of that. I just went to a movie and watched it. Now, I understand all that nuance. Her ability and her team, they are so brilliant and creative that I just pinch myself that I get to be in amongst that kind of creativity.
You broke ground doing the majority of your stunts in the first film. And rumor has it that you are afraid of heights, but clearly, Trinity is not. How do you make that leap in this film?
Yeah, that was a highlight for sure. I have to say that as much as I don’t enjoy heights, I absolutely love overcoming my fear. And I took that on, overcoming that fear. Of course, I trained. We trained doing smaller jumps and I had a really great team, supporting me to do that.
And it’s interesting, Keanu and I had very different ways into that. And I would never speak of his process, but he liked to sort of see the technical part, right? Like how all the different rigging and parts worked. For me, I didn’t want to know anything about the rigging. I just wanted to see the people that were doing the rigging. I wanted to look them in the eyes and I wanted to connect to them.
And I did. I gathered them all around me and I said, “I’m a mom. I have three kids. And I want to do this stunt so badly, and I’m going to do it, but I need you to know: I need to know you and I need to trust you. And if I can do that, I know that I can do all the other work that I need to do to get there.”
It was quite moving. I think I might have been quite teary in saying it, because it was kind of a vulnerable thing to admit, that I’m afraid.
And then, I spent a lot of time in deep meditation, actually. Visualizing it. I had a hotel room in San Francisco and I would just keep it super dark, and I would visualize it over and over and over again.
And I had some words that I used to calm my brain down, into complete and utter faith and trust that all would be well. And on the day… Well, we did it for a few days. That is a true highlight of my life that I did that. And I knew that.
I sat at the kitchen table with my husband, when we were working up to it, and he was like, “You think you’re really going to do that?” And I said, “Oh, yeah. There is no way I’m not doing that.” And he was like, “Wow, okay. I mean, I’m sure you can, but really?” And I was like, “At the end of my life, if I don’t do this, I’m going to really regret it. I don’t want that regret. I want to know, when I’m an old lady, that I did that.”
And you did it!
And actually, the whole process of it was so fun. I think about it and think that there’s no one else that I would rather do that holding hands with than Keanu. And that he and I got to do that together, and have our own personal experiences in it, because it was intense.
And the whole crew… I mean, all the people it took to make that stunt happen. I have a great picture of all of us, and it shows that it took all those people to make that happen. And all those people are human beings who have hearts and cared so much… and were so moved. It’s cool.
The Matrix Resurrections will be in Philippine cinemas on January 12.
