Why Jet Li refused to be in ‘The Matrix’
With some of the most mesmerising action and martial arts sequences of all time, The Matrix remains a genuine cultural artefact in the realm of high-octane cinema. Leaning heavily into anime, Hong Kong action cinema and martial arts flicks, the Wachowkis created a true masterpiece of fighting-heavy film, one that has undoubtedly stood the test of time, even by today’s standards.
The directors also employed well-known fight choreographers to bring The Matrix to life. With an emphasis on martial arts, they had once sought out the legendary actor, former Wushu champion and martial artist Jet Li to take on a significant role, but it was an offer that Li refused.
Known for his speed and agility as showcased in classic action movies like Hero, Fist of Legend, Once Upon a Time in China and Fearless, Li might have seemed like a good bet for The Matrix, but he took great issue with the way the Wachowski’s wanted to turn his talent into part of an intellectual property.
“It was a commercial struggle for me,” Li once admitted in an interview with Chen Luyu. “I realised the Americans wanted me to film for three months but be with the crew for nine. And for six months, they wanted to record and copy all my moves into a digital library.”
“By the end of the recording, the right to these moves would go to them,” the legendary actor and martial artist added. Naturally, as a figure with a profound respect for his dual profession, the last thing I wanted to do was to let his fighting move become part of a digital library, thereby diminishing their personal quality.
While The Matrix indeed possesses some of the best action sequences in the history of cinema, Li felt that what the Wachowskis and the film’s producers wanted to do with his personal art would serve as something of a disrespect to its long cultural history. This wasn’t something he was prepared to be involved in.
Li continued, “I was thinking: I’ve been training my entire life. And we martial artists could only grow older. Yet they could own [my moves] as an intellectual property forever. So I said I couldn’t do that.” Li went on to turn down The Matrix and decided to make the 2002 wuxia film Hero instead.
Directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, Donnie Yen and Chen Daoming, Hero became one of the highest-grossing movies in Chinese cinema history. In 2004, Quentin Tarantino convinced Miramax to release it in American cinemas to further commercial success.
What The Matrix missed out on in terms of Li’s The Matrix absence turned out to be Hero’s gain. While The Matrix was never short of martial arts brilliance, perhaps it might have somehow been even better had Li also starred, but he stuck true to his personal beliefs and left the task to his contemporaries.
