Madonna Says She Turned Down a Role in 'The Matrix'

The pop icon discussed the missed opportunity during her appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'

BY Kaelen BellPublished Oct 8, 2021

Madonna appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night (October 7), and while the segment was somewhat wild overall — four decades into her career, Madonna is still pretty good at being weird and making boring dudes uncomfortable — the most interesting part came when the pop icon revealed that she turned down a role in 1999's The Matrix

During a "myths and rumours" segment that has Fallon ask guests to confirm or deny various tall tales, Madonna talked about turning down parts in both Batman Returns and Showgirls, before claiming that she'd also skipped on the Wachowski sisters' iconic sci-fi touchstone.  

"I also turned down the role in The Matrix," she said. "Can you believe that? I wanted to kill myself. That's like one of the best movies ever made. A teeny-tiny part of me regrets just that one moment in my life."

While there was no elaboration on which role she turned down, maybe there's a timeline out there where Madonna left music altogether and became a blockbuster action star. We'll never know. 

Madonna's not the only pop legend to circle the movie either. Janet Jackson — who was recently deemed the Queen of Pop by Lizzo, much to the chagrin of Madonna fans — reportedly told Wonderland magazine way back in 2010 that she was also in talks to appear in the film. 

Check out Madonna's interview with Fallon below; the Matrix talk starts at the 6:25 mark.

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