Carrie-Ann Moss has said she was given a script to read for the role of a grandmother just one day after her 40th birthday.

• READ MORE: The Matrix 4 – release date, trailers, cast and everything we know so far

The Matrix actress, 53, opened up about ageism and expectations in Hollywood during a talk with Face: One Square Foot of Skin author Justine Bateman at New York’s 92nd Street Y cultural centre earlier this month.

The Hollywood Reporter writes that Bateman, who is also an actress (Family Ties, Desperate Housewives), spoke of the “psychotic” expectation that women should be “cutting up our faces” to land roles, which spurred Moss to explain her experiences.

Moss, who reprises her role as Trinity in The Matrix 4 next year, said: “I had heard that at 40 everything changed.

“I didn’t believe in that because I don’t believe in just jumping on a thought system that I don’t really align with. But literally the day after my 40th birthday, I was reading a script that had come to me and I was talking to my manager about it. She was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, it’s not that role (you’re reading for), it’s the grandmother.’”

Moss continued: “I may be exaggerating a bit, but it happened overnight. I went from being a girl to the mother to beyond the mother.

“It’s a stereotypical story, working with men that are so much older and ageing,” Moss added. “And people are enjoying the ageing of them. While I’m much younger than they are.”

The Matrix 4 was initially planned for release on May 20, 2021 but has since been delayed to April 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Moss joins Keanu Reeves, who is reprising his role as Neo, in the sci-fi action sequel. Read up on the latest developments here.