Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss’ The Matrix films set a new benchmark for action movies. It revolutionized the way people looked at action and stunts in the industry. It’s this innovation that made it a classic. But there was one star who wasn’t happy with all that she had to do, and it was none other than Carrie Anne Moss.
It takes a village full of stunt coordinators, actors, choreographers, and more to execute action sequences on-screen. But not every actor can handle all the wirework and stunts. So Carrie Anne Moss decided to stop acting in action films altogether. But she returned for the biggest star in the action film genre, Tom Cruise.
Carrie Anne Moss Was Bruised And Broken By The Matrix
In an interview with Matrixfans.net, Carrie Anne Moss described how grueling her days on the set of The Matrix were. In fact, the stunt training began right from the first day itself and it included martial arts as well as stunt choreography. She said:
“The first day of which was 3 hours of running, Kung Fu, and taping all these different fights. A really intense 3 hours of just brutal training from which I couldn’t walk for days.”
Working on the film didn’t become easier as the days went by. It was actually the opposite. The actress once said that the cartwheel sequence that everyone loves and remembers actually made her burst out into tears. Sadly, the effects of the stunt training and execution didn’t go away after filming stopped.
Moss found that she hadn’t healed fully even after some time had passed post-filming. In an interview with Black Film, she said:
“It took me years to physically recover from The Matrix, truly. And I’d like to have my challenges be emotional as an actor. I love that. Make me go there. I’ve gone there physically.”
Due to this harrowing experience with stunts, The Soft Kill star decided to avoid action movies with similar stunts altogether. She had declared, “After The Matrix I would never make an action film again.” But she didn’t stick to her resolution because she made a return to the genre for Tom Cruise.
Carrie Anne Moss Broke Her Resolution For Tom Cruise
Even though Carrie Anne Moss had promised to never star in another action film again, she broke her vow for Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible 3 (2006). But why did the Memento star decide to step into doing stunts again? It’s because she felt that the film allowed her to do something different from The Matrix.
She said:
“It just felt like the right thing to do, so I think things sort of come your way and you make your choices. It’s very different than Trinity, so I can’t say that I did. I might’ve had a few moments where I was like, ‘What am I doing, doing another action film?’ But life is interesting. Never say never.”
Carrie Anne Moss indeed lived up to the never say never attitude and returned to the world of The Matrix again with The Matrix: Resurrection.
The Matrix is available on HBO Max, and Mission Impossible 3 is on Paramount Plus.
Source: Matrixfans and Black Film
