Neil Patrick Harris Interviews the Cast of “The Matrix: Resurrections!”

Over the summer, while mapping out what Wondercade could and should become, I thought it would be a swell idea to include interviews with interesting individuals. I also thought a clever conceit would be to ask them a single question and leave it at that. Simple, clear, easy to digest. Kinda like gin, but with a longer buzz. 

Well, I keep trying to reign it in, and the One Question With… column keeps veering off the rails. Audra MacDonald’s went well in our debut issue, but in a subsequent email I asked one question of SIX different cast members from the musical SIX — all kinds of confusing — and here is no different. One Question, be damned..! 

Below, find a singular, unique question texted to a half-dozen (!) unique members of Team Matrix. I simply couldn’t resist, and thought texting was far more on brand than speaking face to face. Their answers are as varied as the people themselves. Happy reading. Oh, and bonus points to Carrie-Anne Moss, who answered in haiku. Well played.

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KEANU REEVES

Can you recall a moment in your own, real-world life when you were “red-pilled”? That is, a single moment or conversation that drastically shifted your perspective on something?

I was preparing to play Siddhartha in Bernardo Bertolucci’s film Little Buddha in 1993 … and in order to prepare for the role I began to explore Buddhist writings … and sought to learn and experience meditation … I  was fortunate to find my teacher … and so began my journey and exploration in meditation … to sit … to feel … to see … nothing has ever been the same since that first day … I am so grateful….

CARRIE-ANNE MOSS

In The Matrix you learn how to fly a helicopter in five seconds. In real life, what stunt or scene did it take you the longest to nail from the original movies?

Walking on the wall.

Sideways — took months of training.

For those few seconds.

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PRIYANKA CHOPRA JONAS 

What’s your favorite film or book about the future? (It can be a rosy view; it need not involve a dystopian world where people are harvested for energy.)

One of my favorite movies about the future is Ex Machina. It’s a movie that so beautifully examines AI, bringing a robot to life in the most realistic way. I so vividly remember watching this movie and the compassion I felt for her and how I connected with her feelings, emotions, and desires. But even more stunning was how the movie conceptualizes the possible repercussions of a future where humans can become God-like.

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JADA PINKETT-SMITH

What do the Red Pill and Red Table Talk have in common? 

What the Red Table and the Red Pill have in common is that they create realms of deep confront that pierce the matrix of illusion and reveal truths.

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YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II 

Now that it’s the film’s release day, and the studio won’t sue either of us for releasing secrets, what was the single hardest thing to keep quiet about?

You know…I have to admit it was a little bit torturous not explain how I wasn’t replacing Morpheus. I wanted the fans to know the iconic character that Laurence Fishburne delivered was still sacred and canon, but I didn’t want to give away the concepts that allowed space and legitimacy to my Morpheus 2.0. It was torturous, but it was fun to have kept it locked. I’d rather fans be in the seats than on Twitter when they have their “Ohhhhhhhh I get it” moment.

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JESSICA HENWICK

What Resurrections skill would you most like to download in real life? 

Have you ever heard astronauts talk about the Overview Effect? It happens when they’re in space and they see Earth for the first time, they feel an overwhelming awareness of how fragile it really is. I think if we could fly, we might gain some understanding of that perspective. How big the picture is, and how tiny we really are.  Also, it seems really fucking fun.

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