New Agent Smith studied Hugo Weaving’s performance for ‘The Matrix Resurrections’

Hugo Weaving has portrayed a number of iconic characters in his legendary career that spans nearly four decades. Still, he isn’t as globally recognized for most of those roles as he is for portraying the main antagonistic figure of The Matrix franchise Agent Smith.

And now that the film series is coming back with a fourth installment, titled The Matrix Resurrections, fans would be wondering if we’ll also see an alternate version of Agent Smith. Well, it appears that besides Neo and Trinity, the sinister villain is also making a comeback, but whereas Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will reprise the two protagonists, director Lana Wachowski has decided to recast Smith much like Morpheus.

Resurrections will serve as a soft reboot for the story, once again placing Thomas Anderson in the blissful ignorance of the simulation, with Yahya Abdul-Mateen’s Morpheus offering him the red pill. However, many narrative beats will undoubtedly change, including how newcomer Jonathan Groff will grow into the role of Agent Smith.

The Hamilton actor had recently talked about how the movie’s fight sequences compelled him to get hot and heavy with Reeves on set. Now, during another chat with Jake’s Takes on YouTube, he revealed his reliance on Hugo Weaving’s performance to get Smith right. In his own words:

“I’d love to ask him less about my performance and more about his experience and his feelings and his memories. 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.”

I can’t really blame Groff for possibly getting addicted to that particular way Weaving says “Mr. Anderson,” as I’m sure we have all been there with these compilations clips before, never mind the fact that the American thespian is actually portraying the character in the upcoming sequel.

Luckily, we’ll get to see the fruits of these efforts soon enough when The Matrix Resurrections comes out in theaters on December 22.