The moment Madonna turned down “one of the best movies ever made”
When an artist accomplishes as much as Madonna over the course of a career, there isn’t much room – or time – for regrets. However, the singer and occasional actor admits that rejecting the chance to star in an all-time cinematic classic is among the small few she has.
As one of the most successful, iconic, influential, and boundary-pushing pop singers in history – one that’s notched two Golden Globes, seven Grammys, and 30 Billboard Awards, among others in the process – looking back on the ones that got away hasn’t ever been a part of her mindset.
Even if she hasn’t appeared in a movie since lending her voice to the role of Princess Selenia in Arthur in the Invisibles in 2006 and hasn’t shown up in a live-action capacity since Die Another Day four years previously, Madonna was a regular fixture of the silver screen, starring in a string of popular during the 1980s and 1990s.
During an appearance on The Jimmy Fallon Show, Madonna took part in a rapid-fire quiz where she confirmed or debunked various rumours, which is where she dropped one particularly huge bombshell: “I also turned down the role in The Matrix. Can you believe that?” she said. “That’s like one of the best movies ever made. A teeny-tiny part of me regrets just that one moment in my life.”
While she didn’t expand any further beyond that, it would be reasonable to assume that she was talking about the part of Trinity, which ultimately ended up with Carrie-Anne Moss. After all, the only other prominent female speaking roles in the movie belong to Gloria Foster’s Oracle and Belinda McClory’s Switch, neither of which seem the best use of a star on Madonna’s level.
Either that or it was an earlier version of the script that looked at least somewhat different to the sci-fi epic that exploded into cinemas in March of 1999 to make a seismic impact on the industry. Intriguingly, that wasn’t even the only leather-clad classic that she rejected, either.
Adding Batman Returns to the list of what-ifs, Madonna “saw them both, and I regret that I turned down Catwoman, that was pretty fierce.” The list of names to have almost starred in The Matrix is every bit as long as the actual ensemble, though, with Will Smith, David Duchovny, Jean Reno, Michelle Yeoh, Sean Connery, Val Kilmer, Jet Li, Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and Janet Jackson just some of the names to have been linked to many of the franchise’s key roles.
It arguably worked out for the best. It’s difficult to picture The Matrix in its original form, with Madonna as the one appearing in the phenomenal opening scene that immediately let audiences know they were in the midst of a genuine game-changer.
