Matrix 4 is hitting theatres later this year and it will see the return of Keanu Reeves as Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. Many folks know that the role of Trinity almost went to Jada Pinkett Smith, but the star wasn’t the only other actor in the running. Salma Hayek was also one of the women who made it far into the audition process for Trinity. Recently, she spoke with Pinkett Smith during an episode of Red Table Talk (via Entertainment Weekly) and recalled her “embarrassing” audition.
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“We were one of the four finalists for The Matrix,” Hayek recalled. “We’d jumped through many hurdles, screen testing, and many auditions. They brought these stunt coordinators from Asia. It was the physical test. I’m flexible and agile, but I’m lazy.” She added, “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. Here comes Jada, a mean, lean, sexy machine! 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,’” Hayek added.
The two women went on to agree that Moss ended up being perfect in the role, with Pinkett Smith adding, “I always tell Carrie-Ann that she was perfect for that one.” Hayek even joked about the fact that The Wachowskis never called her again whereas they wrote the part of Niobe in The Matrix Reloaded for Pinkett Smith. “Every time I’m going to do action, I say, no, I better start getting some stamina and practice the routines, you’ve got to be like Jada!” Hayek added.
Hayek may not be in The Matrix, but she does have some exciting projects in the works. Currently, you can catch her on the big screen in The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard opposite Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. She’ll also be making her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Eternals later this year. In a recent interview with ComicBook.com, Hayek revealed that filming The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard helped her prepare for the Marvel film. “The action scenes actually did help a lot … it took away some of the rust and they were very helpful for what came after, which is the Eternals,” Hayek explained.
Eternals is currently scheduled to hit on theatres on November 5th. Matrix 4 is set to be released on December 22nd.
