LOS ANGELES, June 3: Actor and singer Jonathan Groff says his role in ”The Matrix Resurrections” unlocked the ”gay rage” inside him, which further helped him in preparing for the Broadway run of his musical “Merrily We Roll Along”.
To play the part of Agent Smith in the fourth installment of the popular sci-fi franchise, the 39-year-old actor underwent months of kung fu training.
Groff, who publicly came out as gay in 2009, said film’s director Lana Wachowski was surprised with his performance in an important stunt sequence.
”The Matrix Resurrections” also starred Keanu Reeves, Jessica Henwick, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Erendria Ibarra. “Getting to play Agent Smith really unlocked rage inside of me that I didn’t know was there. That’s helped me so much with ‘Merrily,’ particularly in the first act.
Learning the kung fu was, like, months of fight training. They called me the Savage, because I was so into it. ”We were shooting a big fight sequence with Keanu, and, after the first few takes, I remember Lana at the monitor, like, ‘Jonathan, come over here. Who is that?’ I was, like, ‘I don’t know.’ And she was, like, ‘And what is that?’ I said, ‘Gay rage?’,” Groff told The New Yorker. For his work in ”Merrily We Roll Along”, the actor has received a Tony Award nomination in the best actor in a leading role in a musical category.
Featuring one of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal scores, and moving backwards in time, ”Merrily” charts the turbulent relationship among three lifelong friends – played by Daniel Radcliffe, Groff, and Lindsay Mendez – and traces every milestone of their lives for nearly two decades as they navigate success, show business and unbreakable bonds. (PTI)
Related Posts:
