Jonathan Groff, the actor who has been recast as Agent Smith, has discussed how he studied Hugo Weaving’s performance from the original Matrix trilogy to get his performance right. The Matrix Resurrections is the latest instalment in the Matrix series, which began and ended almost two decades ago. The film comes highly anticipated, with little being known about its plot, and is currently scheduled to hit theatres later in December.
The Matrix Resurrections will see the return of many of the original trilogy’s cast, including Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, who will be reprising their roles as the leather-clad Neo and Trinity, respectively. There are some notable absences from the original Matrix movie cast, however. Laurence Fishburne will not be returning as Neo’s mentor Morpheus, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stepping into Morpheus' shoes in a different iteration of the character. Abdul-Mateen isn’t alone, since Groff will also be joining the cast as a new version of a familiar face. The actor will be taking on the part of Agent Smith, previously played by Hugo Weaving, whose performance is still widely celebrated. Unfortunately for fans of his performance as the evil AI, Weaving was unable to return to the role due to scheduling conflicts.
Now, in an interview with YouTube channel Jake’s Takes, Groff has shed some light on the ways in which he prepared to play the iconic villain. Asked about what he’d like to discuss with Weaving if he was given the chance, the actor replied that he’d want to ask Weaving “less about my performance and more about his experience.” Groff also revealed that he relied on YouTube of Weaving’s Agent Smith to better portray the character. Check out Groff’s full comments below:
"I'd love to ask him less about my performance and more about his experience and his feelings and his memories. I spent so much time watching him, and looking at clips of him, there’s a YouTube [clip] of him saying ‘Mr Anderson’, every time he says it, that I watched repeatedly. Just cuts of him saying ‘Mr Anderson’ ... I want to talk to him about Lord of the Rings, I want to talk to him about his career. I'd be more interested to know about him, and way too nervous to ask him about what he thought of my version of Smith.”
As Weaving is so memorable in this now-iconic role that it won’t come as a surprise to fans that Groff studied Weaving’s performance to perfect his own. Groff has massive shoes to fill, and his version of Agent Smith may well end up as one of the most scrutinised aspects of the film by loyal fans of the original trilogy. However, as the original Matrix series showed itself when it recast The Oracle from Gloria Foster to Mary Lice, recasting can work if done correctly.
Exactly how Agent Smith will reappear in the film is still unconfirmed. The villainous character, alongside Neo and Trinity, died at the conclusion of the previous Matrix trilogy, which has led fans to speculate on many theories as to how the characters are "resurrected" as per the new movie's title. One popular and long-held theory is the 'Matrix-in-a-Matrix' theory, which suggests that the "real world" depicted in the films was just another layer of simulated reality. With The Matrix Resurrections opening later this month, fans won't have long to wait until they find out for certain, and to see whether Groff will be resigned to staying in Weaving's long shadow after his Agent Smith performance.
Source: Jake’s Takes
