STACK #206 Dec 2021

CINEMA FEATURE

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RESURRECTING THE MATRIX

and how that inspired her to make this film. I shared with her about how I lived in San Francisco while I did Looking, and how this was the show that helped me come to terms with my sexuality. [That] it was like a public statement of who I was. And I was tearful telling her about this, and we had a very soulful exchange. I left the audition feeling like, ‘Wow, I have no idea if I’m going to get this movie,’ but I was so moved by how personal and human she is. “She’s magical, like a completely brilliant unicorn creative genius, and yet, at the same time, is so open,” he says. He adds that Lana FaceTimed him two weeks later, inviting him to join the movie along with new cast members Jessica Henwick, Neil Patrick Harris, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Christina Ricci and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who is taking over Laurence Fishburne’s original role as Morpheus. “I still can’t quite believe it's real,” he says. But then the slog would begin, working with a personal trainer in NewYork for two months followed by a further two months of fight training in San Francisco, before relocating to Germany in February 2020 for the actual shoot, which was promptly halted a month later due to Covid-19. Wachowski toyed with the possibility of shelving the project and leaving the film unfinished, but the cast pressured her to complete it, and filming was resumed in August 2020. Inspired by the example set by Reeves and Moss, Groff says, “Keanu is incredibly humble and leads by example. He doesn’t bring his cell phone to set and he’s there to work, trying just as hard – even harder – than everyone else.” He believes Matrix fans will be more than satisfied. “Keanu and Carrie-Anne are recreating characters which became so iconic. They were in their 30s back then and now they’re in their 50s, so watching them take those roles on again was very beautiful, mostly because of the people they are: real people, very salt of the earth. They’re not sliding into the Matrix to cash a paycheck; they’re here to challenge themselves and say something creatively, and to fulfill Lana’s vision. It was very moving to watch them inhabit those characters again."

Actor Jonathan Groff gives STACK a tantalising glimpse into working on the fourth chapter of the mind-bending sci-fi saga. Words Gill Pringle

N obody could accuse Jonathan Groff of having a dull or predictable career. From his breakthrough roles in hit shows Glee and Looking to voicing Kristoff in Disney’s Frozen , and portraying an FBI agent in the series Mindhunter , his new role in the hugely anticipated The Matrix Resurrections is just the latest twist in a fascinating CV. Along with all the cast of director Lana Wachowski’s fourth installment in The Matrix franchise, Groff has been sworn to secrecy, although he does offer STACK some tantalising details. “I can tell you that my character is a business partner to Thomas Anderson (Neo),” he teases when we sit down to talk to him. “And I will add that my whole experience of working on this movie could be a whole movie in itself.” Has it been tough holding onto the secrets of the new Matrix for more than two years? Groff laughs, “Having been in the closet until I was 23 has made me very good at keeping secrets. For better or worse, it comes naturally." Just 14 when he first watched the original Matrix, the actor's experience of this latest iteration has been nothing short of surreal. “I remember renting the VHS for the first Matrix at Blockbuster with my friends, and being amazed. Nothing has been the same ever since,” he says. He immediately bonded with Lana Wachowski, who returns as director (this time without her sister Lilly); meanwhile, Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss and Jada Pinkett

Jonathan Groff in The Matrix Resurrections

Smith reprised their roles as Neo, Trinity and Niobe, respectively. “I was rehearsing for a play when casting director Carmen Cuba, who I had worked with before, called and asked me to audition for ‘a very exciting movie with a very exciting director’,” recalls Groff. “It was very secretive. I flew to San Francisco and met Lana and her wife Karen and their dog, Itchy. We did a lot of work trying the scenes, but beyond the audition, there was a deep, profound, creative conversation. “Lana talked about the death of her parents

The Matrix Resurrections opens in cinemas on Dec 26.

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24 DECEMBER 2021

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