“I still see myself in that part”: Gina Gershon and the pain of losing ‘The Matrix’ role

Posted On October 23, 2024October 23, 2024

Hollywood history is full of sliding-door moments, especially in terms of actors who nearly played iconic parts. Some may have lost out for various reasons or turned down a role and lived to regret it. How different would cinema have been if Al Pacino had understood the Star Wars script and agreed to play Han Solo? Or if Eric Stoltz hadn’t been fired by the Back to the Future team after failing to impress as Marty McFly? Sometimes, an actor is convinced a part is theirs to lose, though, and they still don’t get it – and that is precisely what happened to a young actor in the late 1990s who believed she was a shoo-in for The Matrix.

In 1996, Lilly and Lana Wachowski made their feature film directing debut with Bound, a sultry neo-noir about a lesbian ex-con and a gangster’s girlfriend who plot to steal $2million from the mob. The film wasn’t a hit at the box office, but it was well-reviewed and later became a cult classic with a devoted following. The two leads – Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon – received particular acclaim for their performances, and both have expressed how much they enjoyed working with the Wachowskis.

As part of an interview conducted for the Criterion Collection’s re-release of Bound in 2024, Gershon said, “They’re incredible directors, which I always knew from the first moment I met them. I got that tingly feeling in my stomach going, ‘Oh my God, these are really great directors.’”

Perhaps this is why Gershon was so keen to work with the Wachowskis again on their next project – the head-spinning sci-fi action spectacular The Matrix. The script for that complex, innovative film blew the minds of as many people in Hollywood as it completely stymied – but everyone seemed to know there was something special about it regardless. Gershon was one of those people, and she had her sights set on one role in particular – sleek leather-clad hacker Trinity.

Obviously, Gershon wasn’t cast as Trinity in the end. The part went to unknown Canadian actor Carrie-Anne Moss instead, and Gershon has always found that hard to take. It’s unclear if the Wachowskis considered her seriously for the role or if she simply thought their prior connection would give her a leg up on the competition. Losing out on the part meant she could never watch the movie without feeling jealousy and regret, though.

“It’s hard because I really wanted to play that part,” Gershon told Criterion, “And I thought I was going to, and then they ended up casting Carrie-Anne. So, I don’t think I could be completely objective. I still see myself in that part.”

Gershon quickly added that her bittersweet feelings don’t mean she thought Moss did a bad job as the character. She said, “Listen, she did a wonderful job, and I think I understand why they cast her, but I always thought I was going to play Trinity.”

Trinity will always be the role Moss is most fondly remembered for. After all, she played the character again in three Matrix sequels and also lent her voice to The Animatrix anime and Enter the Matrix video game. In more recent years, she has been a part of Jessica Jones on Netflix and the Star Wars show The Acolyte.

Gershon has also had a very respectable career in film and television, though. After Bound, she appeared in Face/Off, The Insider, and P.S. I Love You before transitioning mostly to TV in more recent times with the likes of Rescue Me, Riverdale, and New Amsterdam. It’s tempting to wonder what her career could have looked like if she’d had a franchise character like Trinity to fall back on over the decades, though.

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