Rowan Witt: What happened to ‘Spoon Boy’ from The Matrix

The 1999 sci-fi action film The Matrix provided many culturally significant moments.

From the bullet time slow-motion scenes to the woman in the red dress and the protagonists’ signature trench coats, this steampunk blockbuster directed by the Wachowskis is without a doubt one of the most iconic films of all time.

And one of The Matrix’s more notable sequences featured a character known as Spoon Boy played by Australian child actor Rowan Witt.

Fans will remember Spoon Boy, sitting cross-legged in monk’s habit, drawing the attention of Neo (Keanu Reeves) by seemingly “bending” spoons with his mind in the waiting room of the Oracle, a psychic played in the first two films of Gloria. . To feed.

“Try not to bend the spoon. That’s impossible,” Spoon Boy tells Neo, who is fascinated by his superhuman ability.

“Instead, try to realize only the truth. There is no spoon. Then you will see that it is not the spoon that bends. Only yourself.’

The 1999 sci-fi action movie The Matrix produced many culturally significant moments — and one of the more notable sequences from The Matrix featured a character known as Spoon Boy

While child actor Rowan Witt (pictured in Sydney in August 2019) may not have reached the same career heights as some of his co-stars in The Matrix, he is still a working actor to this day.

These lines, often quoted by fans of the franchise, are important in the universe of the movie: Neo is taught that what he sees in the virtual reality world of the Matrix is ​​an expectation, so if he can change his expectation then it will he change his expectation. reality.

The spoon scene has a cult following among right-wing communities who see it as an addition to the more famous scene in which Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) gives Neo the choice between a red or blue pill.

Neo must choose between potentially disturbing or life-altering truth by taking the red pill, or staying in the satisfied experience of ordinary reality with the blue pill.

Some rightists see the world in these terms: they think they have “escaped the Matrix” by being “red pilled” and can see the truth, while the rest of society is being misled.

Fans will remember Spoon Boy (Rowan Witt), who sat cross-legged in monk’s habit and caught Neo’s (Keanu Reeves) attention by “bending” spoons with his ghost in the Oracle’s waiting room. “Try not to bend the spoon. That is not possible,’ he says. “Instead, try to realize only the truth. There is no spoon. Then you will see that it is not the spoon that bends. Only yourself’

From the “bullet time” slow-motion scenes to the woman in the red dress and the trench coats of the protagonists (photo: Carrie-Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves), the steampunk blockbuster, directed by the Wachowskis, is without a doubt one of the most iconic movies of all time

While Rowan may not have reached the same career heights as some of his The Matrix co-stars, he’s still a working actor for this one day.

The 34-year-old is a successful stage actor and righteous ended a run in Hamilton’s Australian production, playing the part of King George III.

He has consistently landed roles over the years and is notable for being the only Australian actor to screen test for the lead role in Harry Potter, which later went to Daniel Radcliffe..

Rowan is a fixture on the Australian stage and screen, having appeared in the productions of the South Pacific musical at the Sydney Opera House and Lincoln Center.

He was also in the Australian cast of The Book of Mormon as Elder McKinley, for which he received a Sydney Theater Award and a Helpmann nomination in 2018.

As for his latest project, he now stars in the Stan Original series Totally Completely Fine, a black comedy filmed last year in Sydney.

Rowan is a fixture on the Australian stage and screen, having appeared in the productions of the South Pacific musical at the Sydney Opera House and Lincoln Center. (He can be seen here with Zoe Gertz on the opening night of Mary Poppins at the Sydney Lyric Theater on May 26, 2022)

As for his latest project, he now stars in the Stan Original series Totally Completely Fine, a black comedy filmed last year in Sydney and starring Thomasin McKenzie (pictured).

Rowan said earlier this month that he had an “incredible” time filming The Matrix, adding that the directors made sure he was aware of the film’s complicated virtual universe..

The Wachowskis [directors Lana and Lily] were so detailed about how they wanted the movie to be made and they really insisted that I was all over the world they were making,” he told the ABC.

He was even on set watching scenes that didn’t take place with his minor character.

He’s been getting roles consistently since The Matrix, and is notable for being the only Australian actor to screen test for the lead role in Harry Potter, which later went to Daniel Radcliffe (pictured)

“They often put me on set. Weeks before [my role] and I had a little canvas chair that I could sit on and they gave me headphones. I could see them filming it,” he said.

Rowan revealed that he had “quite long hair” at the time, but his head was shaved before filming the spoon scene with Keanu.

“They ended up cutting it shorter and shorter until the day of filming where they shaved it all off and made me a bit of a bowling ball,” he said.

‘[The filmmakers] were only positive. [Acting] something I loved from an early age. It really is a magical experience,’ Rowan concluded.

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