‘Matrix’ turns 25: Keanu Reaves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne then and now
"The Matrix" is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
The movie follows Neo, a computer hacker whose world is turned upside down when he is pulled out of his reality and told the world he knew is a simulation and the human race has been used as a battery pack for robots who have taken over. He then claims his status as "The One" and teams up with other humans who have been unplugged to free the rest of the human race from the robots.
Not only did the movie entice audiences with an original story, it set the bar for visual effects at the time, with many movies trying to replicate its infamous "bullet time" slow motion effect. It rang in $467 million at the worldwide box office.
Here is what the cast has been up to since the film's 1999 release.
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Keanu Reeves was already an established actor when he signed on to play Neo in "The Matrix," having already starred in "Point Break," "Speed," "Dangerous Liasons" and "Much Ado About Nothing."
Aside from the two Matrix sequels, Reeves continued acting in dramas and love stories, notably "Constantine" and "The Lake House," which saw him reunite with "Speed" co-star, Sandra Bullock. He later appeared in "Man of Tai Chi" and "47 Ronan" before starting the "John Wick" franchise.
Between John Wick movies, he has starred in "To The Bone," "Always Be My Maybe," "Toy Story 4," "Bill and Ted Face the Music," "The Matrix Resurrections" and "DC League of Super Pets."
Reeves and his girlfriend, Alexandra Grant, went public with their relationship in November 2019.
Prior to playing Morpheus in "The Matrix" and its sequels, Laurence Fishburne was already a Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor. He starred in "Apocalypse Now," "Two Trains Running," "TriBeCa: The Box," "What's Love Got to Do with It," "The Tuskegee Airmen" and "Miss Evers' Boys."
The Academy Award-nominated actor has also starred in "Mystic River," "Akeelah and the Bee," "Mission: Impossible III" and "Bobby," as well as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," from 2008 to 2011.
He continued to act while on the show, starring in "Thurgood," "Contagion" and "Man of Steel," before landing a starring role in "Hannibal," from 2013 to 2015. From 2014 to 2022, he starred in the ABC series "Black-ish," while also starring in "Roots," "Ant-Man and the Wasp," "The Mule," "#Freerayshawn" and "The School for Good and Evil."
He starred in the last three "John Wick" movies, and most recently starred in the animated series, "Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur."
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Fishburne was married to Hajna O. Moss from 1985 until their divorce in the '90s, and they have two children, son Langston and Montana. He was then married to Gina Torres, from 2002 to 2018, and they have one daughter, Delilah.
Carrie-Anne Moss worked primarily in television on shows like "Models Inc." and "Dark Justice," before starring as Trinity in "The Matrix," and all three of its sequels.
She went on to star in successful films outside the franchise, including "Memento" and "Chocolat," alongside Johnny Depp, later starring in "Disturbia," "Fireflies in the Garden," "Unthinkable" and the short-lived series "Vegas."
In addition to lending her voice to many projects and appearing in various television shows, she also starred in "Knife Fight," "Silent Hill," "Frankenstein" and "The Bye Bye Man," as well as the shows "Humans" and "Tell Me a Story."
From 2015 to 2019, Moss starred in the Netflix show "Jessica Jones." Most recently, she starred in "Wisting" and "Accidental Texan."
Moss married American actor Steven Roy in 1999, and they have three children; Owen, Kaden and Frances Beatrice.
Hugo Weaving had achieved success in Australia in films such as "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," before gaining international recognition for playing Agent Smith in "The Matrix."
In addition to starring in three Matrix movies, Weaving is a part of three other major franchises. He played Elrond in all three of "The Lord of the Rings" movies and in the first two "The Hobbit" movies; he voiced Megatron in three "Transformers" movies; and he played Red Skull in Marvel's "Captain America: The First Avenger."
He has also starred in "V for Vendetta;" "Happy Feet" and its sequel, "Cloud Atlas;" "The Mule;" "Hacksaw Ridge;" and "The Dressmaker." Most recently, he starred in "Love Me," "The Rooster" and "The Royal Hotel."
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Weaving has been in a relationship with Katrina Greenwood since 1984, and they have two children together.
Foster began her acting career on Broadway in 1963 in the play "A Raisin in the Sun," going on to star in the plays "Long Day's Journey into Night" and "Cherry Orchard."
When she transitioned to on-screen work, she starred in the films "The Comedians" and "Nothing But a Man" and made appearances on the TV shows "I Spy," "The Bill Cosby Show," "The White Shadow" and "The Cosby Show."
She continued to act on Broadway, appearing in the play "Having Our Say." Her final film role was The Oracle in "The Matrix," posthumously appearing in the sequel, "The Matrix Reloaded," in 2003.
Foster was married to Clarence Williams III from 1967 to 1984. She died in September 2001 at the age of 67 from complications related to diabetes.
Joe Pantoliano made a name for himself starring in "Risky Business," "The Goonies," "The Fugitive" and "The Fanelli Boys" before playing Cypher in "The Matrix."
He went on to star in "Memento" before landing a starring role in the hit show "The Sopranos," playing Ralph Cifaretto, which won him an Emmy Award. Later, he starred in "Dr. Vegas," "Deadly Impact," "The Perfect Match" and "Just Getting Started."
The actor also starred in "Bad Boys," as well as its two sequels, including "Bad Boys for Life." Most recently, he starred in "The Santa Stakeout" and "Hide and Seek" and appeared in episodes of "Tacoma FD."
Pantoliano was married to Morgan Kester from 1979 until 1985, and they share one son. He married Nancy Sheppard in 1995, and they have two children, Daniella and Isabella. He also has a step-daughter, Melody.