It’s not every day that a bombed audition ends in laughter instead of tears, but Rosie Perez and the casting crew were on the same page when it came to “The Matrix.”Â
“I looked at [the casting director] and I go, ‘I really sucked,’ and she just burst out laughing,” Perez continued. “We all were laughing. I just gave the Wachowskis a hug and I said, ‘Well, good luck with this.'”
Perez wasn’t the only other actress to be considered for the role of Trinity, nor was she the only one to admit that “The Matrix” would be just fine without her. Janet Jackson and Sandra Bullock were in talks to star in the film, not to mention that Jada Pinkett Smith — who would later be picked to play Niobe in the sequels — and Salma Hayek were both finalists.Â
“I always tell Carrie-Anne that she was perfect for that one,” Pinkett Smith said in 2021. “It was the physical test” that did in Hayek, she said. “I’m flexible and agile, but I’m lazy.” It seems that fans agree Moss was a perfect fit for the role too, given all the pause-worthy Trinity scenes in “The Matrix.”
