Salma Hayek Knows Exactly Why She Lost Out On Playing Trinity For ‘The Matrix’

Salma Hayek knows full well why she lost out on the role of Trinity in The Matrix.

The 54-year-old actress was a guest on Red Table Talk and opened up about the audition process for the upcoming film, where she was going up against Jada Pinkett Smith, and Carrie Ann Moss, who eventually won the role.

Salma recalled that she and Jada were just two of four finalists for the role.

“We’d jumped through many hurdles, screen testing, and many auditions. They brought these stunt coordinators from Asia. It was the physical test,” she said, adding that the main reason she wasn’t cast was because “I’m lazy.”

Salma admitted that she “never really went to the gym, [and] they said, ‘You have to run!’ I go, ‘To where?’ I couldn’t even go around the room once. Here comes Jada, a mean, lean, sexy machine! Oh my God! She was so good! It was so embarrassing! She was so fit, she was so focused, she was so disciplined. She was so capable. She was so gracious. And I just looked at this woman and I thought to myself, ‘That’s who I want to be when I grow up.’”.

Salma wasn’t cast as Trinity, and neither was Jada. However, Lana and Lily Wachowski wrote the role of Niobe in the sequels just for Jada.

“I always tell Carrie-Ann that she was perfect for that one,” Jada said.

Salma now says that every time she’s up for an action role, she reminds herself to “‘better start getting some stamina and practice the routines, you’ve got to be like Jada!’”

In another interview, Salma opened up about her secret Eternals role.