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Jonathan Groff reveals he studied Hugo Weaving’s performance to play Agent Smith in The Matrix 4
Jonathan Groff, the actor who has been recast as Agent Smith, discusses how he studied Hugo Weaving’s performance
Jonathan Groff, who has been recast as Agent Smith, has explained how he studied Hugo Weaving's portrayal from the original Matrix trilogy to perfect his role. The Matrix Resurrections is the most recent entry in the Matrix series, which started and finished about two decades ago.
The Matrix Resurrections, which was just released in theatres and HBO Max saw many original trilogy's cast members return, including Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, who reprised their roles as the leather-clad Neo and Trinity, respectively. However, there are several significant absences from the original Matrix film cast. Laurence Fishburne will not reprise his role as Neo's mentor Morpheus, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II taking on the role in a fresh incarnation of the character. Abdul-Mateen will be joined in the cast by Jonathan Groff, who plays a fresh version of a known character.
Jonathan portrays Agent Smith, a role formerly performed by Hugo Weaving, whose performance is still generally praised. Fans of Weaving's portrayal as the evil AI were disappointed to learn that he was unable to reprise the role owing to schedule difficulties. Groff, via his YouTube account Jake's Takes, has thrown some light on how he prepared to portray the legendary villain. When asked what he'd want to talk about with Weaving if given the opportunity, the actor said he'd like to ask him "less about my performance and more about his experience." Groff also claimed that he relied on YouTube to properly depict Weaving's Agent Smith.
Groff said as per Screenrant, "I spent so much time watching him, and looking at clips of him, there’s a YouTube [clip] of him saying ‘Mr Anderson’, every time he says it, that I watched repeatedly. Just cuts of him saying ‘Mr Anderson’ ... I want to talk to him about Lord of the Rings, I want to talk to him about his career. I'd be more interested to know about him, and way too nervous to ask him about what he thought of my version of Smith.”
However, fans will not be surprised that Groff studied Weaving's performance to improve his own, given Weaving is so memorable in this now-iconic character. Groff has big shoes to fill, and his portrayal of Agent Smith may wind up being one of the most scrutinised portions of the film among original trilogy fans.
