What’s art without inspiration? To be unique, one must learn to use the available tools effectively and efficiently. Just like how Carrie-Anne Moss learned the nuances of portraying an action role from veteran action star Clint Eastwood.

Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix

Having played a badass motorcycle-riding PVC-clad hacker in the 1999 movie The Matrix, Moss’ character served as an inspiration to many upcoming female stunt women and action stars. However, not many would have guessed that even though an action role helped Moss rise to international prominence, she hated the idea of becoming an action star.

Clint Eastwood helped Carrie-Anne Moss embrace the life-changing role

Known as one of the best action stars in Hollywood, Clint Eastwood has worked in a myriad of action movies as an actor as well as director. Always trying to explore new facets of his talent, Eastwood made a conscious decision to play morally complex characters in the latter part of his career.

In fact, even as an antihero, Eastwood’s exceptional acting talent inspired many actors, including Carrie-Anne Moss who admitted to drawing direct inspiration from his work for portraying her character Trinity in The Matrix. Explaining how exactly Clint Eastwood contributed to her role, Moss shared,

“I’ve never been interested in action movies. Definitely not interested in Sci-Fi. So when we were on location, I decided to watch Clint Eastwood. I hadn’t seen his movies since I was a kid and went with my dad and my brother.”

Action Star Clint Eastwood

Furthermore, she shared how she incorporated Eastwood’s stillness in her role to make her role as Trinity more powerful. She said,

‘But I remembered how still he was. Still but full of strength. I knew I needed to tap into that because I’m not a very still person. And I knew the brothers really wanted that quiet intensity for Trinity. It’s about her eyes, her voice, the way she moves. Or doesn’t move. And I watched Clint and thought, Okay, Trinity can be still and still very powerful.”

Does Moss still avoid portraying roles like Trinity as an actor?

Even though the role helped Carrie-Anne Moss achieve great success, she admitted to avoiding similar roles that came her way after the release of The Matrix. Explaining how she tapped into her action star reservoir only for the character of Trinity, Moss said that she actively avoided roles like Trinity out of respect for the character. She said,

“I didn’t ever want to have anyone else sort of use that. That was a hard line for me. If something smelled or felt, or had that [Trinity] energy… it was just like, no. It would have felt like an act of betrayal.”

Keanu Reeves and Carrie Anne Moss in The Matrix

However, despite her exceptional display of talent as Trinity in The Matrix, Moss could not stand watching herself on the screen. Revealing how it was not a fun experience, she said that she has always been a simple person and the special effects used on her face and body just seemed shocking to her at first.

And now, almost two decades later, Carrie-Anne Moss returned to the world of The Matrix alongside her co-star Keanu Reeves in the 2021 sequel The Matrix Resurrections. Although Moss never imagined returning to the franchise, she confessed that she was over the moon with the prospects of reprising her role as Trinity.