Laurence Fishburne is well- known for his iconic role as Morpheus in The Matrix. His preparation for the film began long before filming started. At New York Comic Con, Fishburne spoke with his former co-star
Joe Pantoliano about the making of the sci-fi classic, emphasising that no shortcuts were taken. Reflecting on the dojo training scene between Morpheus and Keanu Reeves’ Neo, he revealed that it took nearly 10 months to perfect the battle sequence.
Laurence Fishburne said, “We trained for six months before we got to Australia. We got to Australia. We continued practicing the fight for at least four months before we shot it. Then we shot it over like three days. And we had never done it full out. Like we had always marked it. We had never really used all of our physical energy to do it.”
He added that by the end of the shoot, both Keanu and he had bruises on their forearms.
But the actor praised the crew’s dedication, saying, “That’s how committed we all were to doing this thing. Cause we knew that they had a vision and they communicated with us very well with what they were trying to do.”
Laurence Fishburne On The Matrix Being Remembered For Decades
At the same event, when asked about The Matrix’s influence on future filmmakers, Laurence Fishburne said, “There’s no movie that comes after ‘The Matrix’ that’s a sci-fi action or fantasy movie that’s not been influenced by it.”
All About The Matrix Franchise
The Matrix first hit theatres in 1999. Alongside Laurence Fishburne and Keanu Reeves, the film starred Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving and Gloria Foster. Its success led to the release of the sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Reeves and Moss later reprised their roles in the 2021 instalment, The Matrix Resurrections.
