'Mindhunter' Star: Jonathan Groff: Working With Keanu Reeves In 'The Matrix Resurrections' Was Inspiring

American actor Jonathan Groff who is known for his role in the Netflix series 'Mindhunter' will soon be seen sharing the screen with Keanu Reeves in 'Matrix Resurrections.' The film will release in theatres on 22nd December.

From his breakout TV appearances in hit programmes like 'Glee' and 'Looking' to voicing Kristoff in Disney's 'Frozen,' Groff quickly progressed to portraying an FBI agent investigating famed serial killers in the dark TV thriller 'Mindhunter.'

Also twice Tony-nominated for his roles in Broadway musicals 'Spring Awakening' and 'Hamilton,' his new role in the hugely anticipated 'The Matrix Resurrections' is just the latest twist in a fascinating career.

His current part in the highly anticipated The Matrix Resurrections is just the latest twist in a remarkable career that has seen him nominated for two Tony Awards for his appearances in the Broadway musicals 'Spring Awakening' and 'Hamilton.'

In an interview with the studio house, which was exclusively accessed by Outlook India, Groff talks about his role in 'Matrix', about the movie, working with Reeves and director Lana Wachowski.

What does stepping into the world of the 'Matrix' mean to you as an artist, a fan?

It's meaningful and emotional and thrilling on so many levels. If I had to pick the top number one reason for me personally, it was the opportunity to jump into the mind of Lana Wachowski. I don't think that there's another filmmaker like her in the world. She and her sister [Lilly] redefined film with the original 'Matrix' movie and then continue to just make phenomenal art. I've been tracking her entire career, and finally getting to meet her in the audition for this project was shocking in a way, because she was so cool and chill and creative and collaborative and fun and in the moment and joyful and leading with love and leading with her heart. And this was the case from my first audition through the entire shooting of the movie. It was just an honor and a joy, total joy, to be in her world.

How did the project come to you?

Carmen Cuba, who is the brilliant casting director of the movie, cast me in a show called Looking that was on HBO back in 2013. And Carmen sent me a text, “I'm working on something really exciting. Would you be willing to fly to San Francisco on your day off”—I was in a play and I was rehearsing in New York—“to meet a very exciting director to talk about a very exciting project?” I didn't know what it was when she initially texted me. I said, “Sure.” And then the details were revealed.

You take that leap of faith when someone like that calls you. Right?

Absolutely. Yes. I mean, that’s part of the joyful experience of a career that you spark, you form these bonds with people that you have an artistic conversation with that is a lifelong conversation. And Carmen is one of those people for me through the years. And I think Lana is one of those people for me moving forward as well.

Tell us a little bit about your character.

I don't want to give away too much about my character, specifically because I don't want to reveal any important information before the film comes out! [LAUGHS] But I will say that I got to interact a lot with Keanu and of the list of the many exciting and thrilling things about working on the film, he is the major one. I mean, he's an icon, he's a hero. He comes with this whole legendary status of being not only an iconic movie star, but also the best guy in the world. And he fulfilled this expectation and then some. So, getting the opportunity to work with him in scenes… You would think that Keanu, especially because this is a role that he's played before, would come in feeling like, "Oh, I got this." And he would be chatty between scenes and whatnot. But he was so focused and so invested. The very first scene that we shared, he was looking in his script at his lines between every take, really staying in the world of the movie and staying in the world of the character.

And it was so inspiring to be around him and to watch him work as an actor and to watch him with the fight team and his physical prowess and his dedication was phenomenal. And so getting to metaphorically dance with Keanu Reeves was a really beautiful experience. And one that I'll take with me for the rest of my life.

He's one of those interesting actors who, over his career, has become one of the biggest action stars in the world, but is so down to earth, right?

He's so many contradictions at the same time, because he's very real. There's no bells and whistles. He doesn't come with a team of people that you have to go through to have a conversation with Keanu. He's very normal. And then at the same time, he's Keanu Reeves.

And on this particular set, he's Thomas Anderson. He's Neo. He's inhabiting this intense, iconic person in the world of film. And it's like, he is those exact things at the exact same time. He's such a living, breathing beautiful contradiction.

Tell us a little bit about working with Lana. Obviously she's a legend, and there's really only one mind like hers. So, when you're actually in the world and doing the work, what is that dynamic between director and actor for you?

She talks a lot about her transition and how her transition related to her creative process. And how early in her career it would be dozens of takes, incredibly planned out, incredibly meticulous, almost like a comic book that she was putting on film, an exact replication of what was in her mind on the film. A great deal of control on her part. These were in the early days. I think Cloud Atlas was a huge turning point for her, when she started to fall in love with natural light and to fall in love with the sun and started to fall in love with the beautiful surprise of what could happen if you didn't plan every little detail out. And if you prepared obviously as much as you needed to, to keep everybody safe and to keep everybody on the same page creatively, but when the cameras were rolling, what could happen when people were set free in the moment? And what could happen when the natural light and the outside world infused and inspired a creative process?

We had lots of conversations, but we didn't do a lot of rehearsing. She didn't over prepare any of us for our roles because she wanted to capture this exciting, beautiful spontaneity. So this, for me personally, was incredibly exciting and it brought me... The whole experience of shooting this movie was very “body first,” not head first. It was about impulse. It was about feeling. And it broke me out of my shell and made me do things I never would have thought possible ever before. And so, as a creative experience, it was scary. It was like jumping off a building…as some people do in this film. You see that in the trailer. [LAUGHS]

And that is what coming to work every single day felt like on this movie, not only for the actors, but for the fight team, for the crew. And this is the kind of exciting energy that Lana has embedded in her creative process that I think you feel when you watch the movie. It doesn't feel like a comic book shot for shot for shot. You feel this spontaneity and this spark of inspiration, and this creative fire that comes out of inspiration that you discover in the moment.

One final question: Blue Pill or Red Pill?

Oh my gosh. Red Pill. And it's funny though, because I think that I thought I was picking Red Pill in life, but it wasn't until I worked with Lana and got to experience her and her community of artists and friends, in Berlin specifically, that I leaned even more into my Red Pill-ness. So, I felt myself expand in the Red Pill in a way that I never have until getting the chance to meet her and work on this movie. So Red Pill, even more now than ever.

The artistic freedom you described could only be achieved by the Red Pill, right?

Totally.