Salma Hayek has revealed that she came very close to landing the role of Trinity in The Matrix back in 1999... as well as the hilarious reason she believes she ultimately lost out on the gig!
The Eternals star appeared on the latest episode of Jada Pinkett Smith’s - who was also one of the four finalists to play Trinity - Facebook Watch series, Red Table Talk, and looked back on the final hurdle they needed to overcome in order to be considered for the job.
“We’d jumped through many hurdles, screen testing and many auditions,” recalled Hayek. “They brought these stunt coordinators from Asia. It was the physical test. I’m flexible and agile, but I’m lazy. I never really went to the gym, they said, ‘You have to run!’ I go, ‘To where?’ I couldn’t even go around the room once. They never called me again after that day.”
Carrie-Anne Moss won the role in the end and Pinkett Smith was introduced as Niobe in the sequel, but Hayek believed that the latter was a shoe-in to play Trinity after witnessing her physical audition.
“Oh my God! She was so good! It was so embarrassing! She was so fit, she was so focused, she was so disciplined. She was so capable. She was so gracious. And I just looked at this woman, and I thought to myself, ‘That’s who I want to be when I grow up.'”
Pinkett Smith is expected to reprise the role of Niobe for The Matrix 4, while Hayek will maker her MCU debut as Ajak in Marvel's Eternals.
Do you think Salma Hayek would have been a good fit for Trinity? Drop us a comment down below.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.