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The Matrix Reloaded: African-Americans in the
Matrix Reloaded
How many films have there been that featured at least 9 African-Americans
and have not been categorized as a "Black Film"? Stumped? Rightly
so. Explore the world of Zion, the city serving as the backdrop for The
Matrix Reloaded. Keanu Reeves returns as Neo, as do Lawrence Fishburne
as Morpheus, and Carrie-Anne Moss as Trinity. Joining the crew are Jada
Pinkett-Smith as Niobe and a slew of talented African-Americans.
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Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus
LAURENCE FISHBURNE (Morpheus), honored for his work
on the stage and screen, earned an Academy Award nomination for
his searing portrayal of Ike Turner in the hit biopic What’s
Love Got to Do with It. Fishburne recently made his directorial
debut, as well as starring in and producing, Once in the Life,
which he wrote based on the one-act play Riff Raff in which he starred,
wrote and directed in 1994. Fishburne, who began acting at the age
of 10, was only 15 years old when he won the role of a young G.I.
in Francis Coppola’s Vietnam War epic, Apocalypse Now. He went on
to work with Coppola on Rumble Fish, Gardens of Stone
and The Cotton Club.
Fishburne has collaborated twice with noted director
John Singleton, on Boyz ‘N the Hood and Higher Learning,
earning an NAACP Image Award for Best Actor for the former. His
other credits include Othello, Searching for Bobby Fischer,
Just Cause, Bad Company, Class Action, Deep
Cover, Fled, Cadence, King of New York,
Red Heat, Band of the Hand, Spike Lee’s School
Daze, Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, Hoodlum,
Event Horizon, The Matrix, as the voice for Thrax
in Osmosis Jones and most recently as the star of Biker
Boyz.
Fishburne will next be seen in Clint Eastwood’s Mystic
River, starring alongside the acclaimed cast of Kevin Bacon,
Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Marcia Gay Harden, followed by the explosive
conclusion to The Matrix film trilogy, The Matrix Revolutions,
in November.
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Jada Pinkett Smith as Niobe
JADA PINKETT SMITH (Niobe) was most recently seen in her Image
Award-nominated role as Sonji in the Academy Award-nominated Ali,
starring Will Smith. She also recently starred opposite LL Cool
J, Whoopi Goldberg and Vivica A. Fox in Kingdom Come. Additional
credits include Spike Lee’s Bamboozled; the title role for
director Daisy Von Scherler Meyer’s film Woo, co-starring
Tommy Davidson; the teen thriller Scream 2 opposite Neve
Campbell; and a cameo role as the young journalist in the critically
acclaimed film A Return to Paradise starring Vince Vaughn,
Anne Heche and Joaquin Phoenix.
Among her additional film credits are The Nutty
Professor opposite Eddie Murphy; Set It Off opposite
Vivica A. Fox and Queen Latifah; Demon Knight, director Ernest
Dickerson’s big screen adaptation of the popular HBO series Tales
from the Crypt; Keenen Ivory Wayans’ A Low Down Dirty Shame;
Jason’s Lyric and The Inkwell. Pinkett Smith made
her film debut in 1993 in Menace II Society, directed by
Allen and Albert Hughes. Her big break came when she landed a role
on the long-running NBC series A Different World.
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Nona Gaye as Zee
A native of Washington D.C., NONA GAYE (Zee) is best
known for her acclaimed performance opposite Will Smith as Belinda,
Muhammad Ali’s second wife in Michael Mann’s Ali. Gaye will
reprise her role as Zee in The Matrix Revolutions, which
will be released November 5, 2003. She is currently in production
on The Polar Express in which she stars opposite Tom Hanks
for director Robert Zemeckis.
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Harold Perrineau Jr. as Kain
HAROLD PERRINEAU (Link) starred on the critically acclaimed
HBO series OZ created by Tom Fontana. For the past 6 seasons,
Perrineau portrayed the role of Augustus Hill, the wheel chair bound
narrator imprisoned for 20 years to life for drug dealing and murder
in this gritty, quick-paced CableACE-winning series.
Perrineau recently appeared on the big screen in Woman
on Top opposite Penelope Cruz. His other feature film credits
include The Best Man, the independent films On_Line
and A Day in Black and White, The Edge opposite Anthony
Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet opposite
Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes and John Leguizamo and Wayne Wang’s
critically acclaimed film Smoke, for which he was nominated
for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male.
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Harry Lennix as Lock
HARRY LENNIX (Commander Lock) has appeared in numerous
feature films, television series and stage productions. Among his
feature film credits are Andrew Davis’ Collateral Damage
and The Package; the upcoming Never Get Outta the Boat;
Pumpkin; Julie Taymor’s Titus (for which he received
a Golden Satellite Award from the International Press Academy and
also received a Tree of Life Award); David Schwimmer’s Dogwater;
Spike Lee’s Get on the Bus and Clockers; and Tim Robbins’
Bob Roberts. With Robert Townsend as producer, Lennix staged
and adapted, from the original Townsend screenplay, The Five
Heartbeats, in which he also starred when it was filmed for
Fox.
For television, Lennix starred in Keep the Faith
Baby - The Adam Clayton Powell Story for Showtime (for which
he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award), and appeared in a recurring
role on E.R. and in guest starring roles on such popular
shows as Judging Amy, Ally McBeal and The Practice.
Lennix will soon be seen in the upcoming films Suspect
Zero with Carrie-Anne Moss and The Human Stain, starring
Sir Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman.
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Gloria Foster as The Oracle
Sadly, Ms. Foster died September 2001 after filming
almost all shots for Reloaded. Foster’s feature film debut
was in 1963’s Cool World, and her feature credits include
The Comedians, Man and Boy, City of Hope and
The Matrix. Foster’s many television credits include guest
appearances on Soul Food, Law & Order, The Cosby
Show, Mod Squad and I
Spy. Mary Alice will replace her in Revolutions.
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Roy Jones Jr. as Captain Ballard
Roy Jones Jr. (Captain Ballard) was robbed of the gold
medal in Boxing at 1988 Summer Olympics due to an error in scoring
yet was still voted Outstanding Boxer of the Games; won IBF middleweight
crown by beating Bernard Hopkins in 1993; moved up to super middleweight
and won IBF title from James Toney in 1994; moved up to light heavyweight
division winning WBC (in 1997), WBA (1998) and IBF titles (1999);
suffered only pro loss in a disqualification to Montel Griffin which
he avenged with a 1st round KO 5 months later. On March 1, 2003,
Roy Jones, Jr. would make history with a 12-round unanimous decision
over John Ruiz. He became just the second light heavyweight champion
since Michael Spinks in 1985 and just the second former middleweight
champion since Bob Fitzsimmons in 1897 to capture a share of the
heavyweight title.
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Gina Torres as Cass [Dozer's widow]
Gina Torres (Cass) had recurring roles in such tv shows
as Hercules: The Legendary Journey, Alias and Any
Day Now. She’s made guest appearances in Law & Order,
NYPD Blue and Profiler. Gina was a regular in the
tv show Cleopatra 2525 and more recently the FOX tv series
Firefly. Her film credits includes The Substance of Fire
and Bed of Rose
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Sasha Sarago
Sasha Sarago is a model/ actress who comes from Geelong,
Australia and has a diverse background of Aboriginal/ Malay/ Maritius
(mother) and African-American/ Spanish (Father).
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Dr. Cornel West as Counselor West
Cornel West is playing a Zion Elder called Counselor
West. He was invited by Larry and Andy Wachowski, the movies' writer-director
team, who'd read West's philosophical writings and wanted to incorporate
him into the script. West, Professor of Religion and African American
Studies at Princeton University, is one of America’s most gifted,
provocative, and important public intellectuals. Dr. West has won
numerous awards, including the American Book Award, and has received
more than 20 honorary degrees. In 1993, West had a bestseller with
his book Race Matters.
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