Matrix Star Jonathan Groff Thought He Peed His Pants In One Scene With Keanu Reeves

The Matrix Resurrections was no doubt an intense undertaking to making, given the immense legacy of The Matrix Trilogy films – but for actor Jonathan Groff it was so intense that at one point he actually thought he peed himself! Groff has the daunting task of stepping into actor Hugo Weaving's iconic role as (the new) Agent Smith, in this latest version of the Matrix world. Needless to say, Smith's rivalry with Keanu Reeves' Neo hasn't gotten less intense, meaning that Groff had to sweat it out for some big action sequences. And by his own admittance, "sweating it out" wasn't the only leaking the actor did on set... 

Speaking to about filming The Matrix Resurrections, Jonathan Groff revealed that one pivotal early scene (SPOILERS!) which sees his character full "re-awaken" as "Agent Smith" was also the moment he may have wet himself. The scene is set in an office building where Thomas Anderson (Reeves) works as lead designer of "The Matrix Trilogy" video games, with "Smith" as his shark-minded business partner. Of course, as soon as Thomas remembers that he is Neo, once again trapped in The Matrix, "Smith" quickly remembers who he is, and what he is supposed to do (kill Neo). The office becomes a bloodbath soaked in water from the sprinkler system, as Neo, Morpheus, Smith, and agents of The Matrix all shoot it out in the rain across the cubicles. 

"When [the scene] was over, I was like, 'I think I wet my pants. I think I peed myself,'" Jonathan Groff reveals to EW. "You know when you pee yourself you feel that, like, hot urine? ... But then, it didn't go away. When you pee yourself, it's hot for a second and then it gets cold, and so [the sensation] sustained. Then I thought one of the shells from the gun had come down my shirt, which they warn you might happen. I was reaching down there looking for this shell but it wasn't down there. But for like 10 minutes, I had this heat emanating from my..."

Groff's castmates Priyanka Chopra and Carrie-Anne Moss stepped in to help (save?) him. Bottom line, according to Moss: "But you didn't pee your pants. To be clear."

The larger context of the conversation was about how actors get to such intense places while in character that they're not always prepared for their own body's actual reactions. In this case, Jonathan Groff channeled so much intensity letting out his inner agent that he couldn't even measure the heat response from his body – The Matrix made that pee feel real. Wild stuff. 

The Matrix Resurrections is now in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.