Brad Pitt is one of the most well-known figures in Hollywood, having appeared in films such as Fight Club, Moneyball, 12 Years a Slave, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Due to his tremendous demand, the actor has turned down a number of prominent parts over the course of his decades-long career, including one of the most successful film series of all time.

Pitt was asked to reveal which big-screen jobs he had previously rejected when he spoke at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in January 2020. “I’ll give you one, and only one,” the actor said. “Because I really believe it was never mine.”

Pitt went on to say that he was approached for the character of Neo in the 1999 science-fiction film The Matrix, which ultimately went to Keanu Reeves. “I did pass on The Matrix,” Pitt added. “I swallowed the red tablet. That’s the only one I’ll mention. I wasn’t given two or three options. Just the first one. Just to be clear.”

“I come from a certain place; perhaps it’s my upbringing; if I didn’t get it, it wasn’t mine.” I’m convinced the job was never mine. It isn’t mine. It was someone else’s idea, and they went ahead and created it. “I truly believe in that,” the Oscar winner remarked, before joking that if he were to list all of “the great movies I’ve passed on,” it would take him two nights.

Pitt was not the only well-known actor considered for the part of Neo before Reeves. Previously, Matrix producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura stated to The Wrap that Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, and Sandra Bullock were all interested in joining the franchise.

“The first movie star who says yes is Brad Pitt; he’s doing Seven Years in Tibet, and then he’s coming out of it, and he’s like, ‘I’m way too exhausted to take this on,’ so he’s gone,” di Bonaventura revealed. “We then proceed to Leonardo [DiCaprio].” He says yes; we meet with him, and then he says, ‘You know, I can’t go do another visual effects movie after doing Titanic,’ and he drops out. Then Will Smith joins, and he leaves.”

As previously stated, Reeves was eventually cast in the film’s leading role, co-starring with Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix, which spawned three sequels (The Matrix: Reloaded, The Matrix: Revolutions, and The Matrix Resurrections) and grossed over $1.7 billion worldwide.