It’s hard to imagine a blond Neo in “The Matrix,” but as Brad Pitt revealed this week at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, he declined to work on the project when it came his way. Speaking to Leonard Maltin while being honored with the Maltin Modern Master Award on Wednesday, Jan. 24, the “Once Upon a Time …” star admitted that he’s given up opportunities to work on lots of films that ended up being terrific. “The Matrix” was apparently the one that stuck out in his memory, though. “I did pass on ‘The Matrix,'” he said of the 1999 film, according to Collider. “I took the red pill, he joked. “That’s the only one I’m naming … I wasn’t offered two or three. Only the first one. Just to clarify that. I come from a place, maybe it’s my upbringing, if I didn’t get it, then it wasn’t mine. I really believe [the role] was never mine. It’s not mine. It was someone else’s and they go and make it. I really do believe in that. If we were doing a show on the great movies I’ve passed on, we would need two nights.” Though he didn’t say specifically that he was considered as a possible Neo, The Wrap reported last year he was initially a candidate for the role.
