The Matrix could have looked very different, as a host of A-list stars turned down the role of Neo before Keanu Reeves was cast in the role. Written and directed by the Wachowskis, The Matrix became a surprise cultural phenomenon when it was released in 1999. While Star Wars: The Phantom Menace got most of the hype that summer, The Matrix turned out to be the more revolutionary film, paving the way forward for action and science fiction with its complicated narrative and mind-blowing slow-motion bullet time visual effects.
But getting the film off the ground took some time. The Wachowskis were critically admired indie filmmakers but had little box office cachet up to that point - The Matrix was by far their most ambitious, expensive project yet. Appropriately, the film's cast is loaded with talent, from Laurence Fishburne as the enigmatic Morpheus to Carrie-Anne Moss as the steely Trinity. Hugo Weaving also added to his cult film accolades as the cold, menacing Agent Smith.
But the movie works because of the career-defining performance by Keanu Reeves as Neo. Reeves is so iconic in the role that it's hard to imagine anyone else in that leather duster, but it took quite a while to settle on the casting of the main role, with a cavalcade of Hollywood's brightest stars turning down the part before Keanu took the reins.
Will Smith
Will Smith was arguably the biggest movie star in the world in the late 1990s. After The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air made him a household name, Smith moved on to the big screen, where he found wild success in films like Bad Boys, Independence Day, and Men In Black. It would have made perfect sense on paper for Smith to take on the role of Neo, but the actor decided to make Wild, Wild West instead, feeling he wasn't the right actor for the Wachowskis film. He was at least partly right, as it's difficult to imagine anyone other than Reeves in the role now, but Smith likely would have done an admirable, if slightly more humorous job in the role.
Smith's career obviously didn't suffer too much from passing on The Matrix, as he's still one of Hollywood's biggest draws. However, one has to imagine choosing Wild, Wild West over The Matrix is not a decision the savvy Smith would make twice.
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt had already made a name for himself in dark, narratively challenging films like Se7en and 12 Monkeys, so he was an obvious choice to take on a role like Neo. Pitt even initially agreed to take on the role but backed out after making Seven Years In Tibet left him exhausted. Pitt noted that, at the time, the film was pitched to him as a single movie, not a three-picture trilogy, though he suggested that wouldn't have affected his decision to pass on the role, and he happily admits the part was made for Keanu Reeves.
Pitt would later have his own cult classic, reality-bending film in 1999 with David Fincher's Fight Club, so his decision to pass on The Matrix worked out pretty well for everyone involved.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio was coming off his career-making turn in Titanic when he was offered The Matrix. It's easy to imagine the versatile DiCaprio in the role of Neo; indeed, a straight action role is one of the few avenues he hasn't really taken as an actor, give or take Inception. Initially enthusiastic about the project, DiCaprio decided he didn't want to tie himself to yet another big-budget, effects-heavy film so quickly after Titanic.
After taking a little time away from the Hollywood spotlight in the late 90s, DiCaprio would quickly return in the 21st century as one of the most successful movie stars of all time, regularly pairing with the likes of Spielberg and Scorsese, and he's never expressed regret at letting The Matrix go, acknowledging Reeves was the right man for the job.
Val Kilmer
The producers of The Matrix really wanted Val Kilmer for something, anything. After the Batman Forever star turned down the role of Neo, he was offered the role of Morpheus instead, which he also declined. Kilmer decided he'd rather make the romantic film At First Sight about a blind man falling in love than take the red pill.
Notoriously difficult to work with in the 90s, Kilmer never again logged a hit anywhere near as big as The Matrix, and it's a little hard to imagine the cocksure, lantern-jawed star in the everyman role of Neo.
Sandra Bullock
After so many Hollywood heavyweights passed on the role, there was a moment where Warner Bros. and the Wachowskis considered altering Neo to be a woman just so they could land Sandra Bullock, who was coming off hits like Speed and A Time To Kill in the late 90s. The producers were unsure if the film would even interest Bullock, but decided to take a chance and sent her the script.
Bullock acknowledged the script was strong but didn't think she was right for the part at the time. Ironically, her friend and Speed co-star would eventually come on and make the role his own. Bullock would eventually make her way into some critically acclaimed science-fiction with the Oscar-winning Gravity.
Nicolas Cage
After spending the 1980s becoming a critical darling, Nicolas Cage's movie roles shifted toward an A-list movie star path in the '90s. Action films like The Rock, Con-Air, and Face/Off made him a marquee blockbuster movie star - he even very nearly played Superman - so it should be no real surprise that Cage was approached to take on The Matrix. Cage ultimately declined the role, citing family obligations.
It's become something of a joke in modern times that Cage will take on virtually any role offered to him, as his copious output has become legendary. He's certainly landed on some winners over the years, like the hauntingly beautiful horror film Mandy and his turn as Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, but nothing quite on the level of The Matrix.
