The reason for Salma Hayek not getting one of the key roles in The Matrix? Well, it involves the gym.
Salma Hayek has been discussing just how close we came to seeing her play the iconic role of Trinity in The Matrix… and those of us who aren’t inclined to hit the gym every day will sympathise. Speaking on Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett Smith’s Facebook talk show, Hayek outlined just how close she came to getting the role.
“We’d jumped through many hurdles, screen testing and many auditions,” Hayek said of both her and Pinkett Smith’s audition process. “They brought these stunt coordinators from Asia. It was the physical test. I’m flexible and agile, but I’m lazy,” Hayek revealed, after stating that she – along with Pinkett Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss and one other actor – were the final four in contention for the role.
Moss would ultimately score the part and put in a memorable performance, whilst Pinkett Smith would later take the part of Niobe in the film’s sequels. For Hayek however, her involvement with the nascent franchise would end there.
“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,” she elaborated.
“They never called me again after that day,” recalls Hayek, who also revealed that the athletic nature of Pinkett Smith’s audition inspired her to get in better shape for future auditions:
“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.’”
The next film in The Matrix franchise is set to release this December. Carrie-Anne Moss will return as Trinity. Salma Hayek is not in the movie.
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