Laurence Fishburne: "Matrix? We knew we were making something never before seen"

At 10, he decided to act; at 18, he was cast in one of cinema's masterpieces, Coppola's Apocalypse Now. Laurence Fishburne didn't expect to become an actor; his dream was to be a doctor or play basketball. Yet, things turned out differently. His own words, gathered at the last International Marrakech Film Festival, where he spoke openly about cinema, mentors, present and future, and that role in Matrix, which entered the collective imagination.

Interview with Laurence Fishburne of Matrix

As a boy, to please your mother, as you said, you saw yourself in other roles. And instead...

I was born with a gift; my mother was an educator, a brilliant woman, she's still alive. She recognized that creative gift, but she made sure I was in an environment where I could truly use it, refine it, and cultivate it.

My insecurities manifested in everyday life, but not so much in my work; there I had confidence. There were times when I was young when I was a mess; it was only when I was 30-31 that I managed to get myself together, regain control, and start creating the person I wanted to be.

Let's talk about your inspirations for a moment: who did you look up to the most?

Roscoe Lee Browne, a brilliant African-American actor whom I was very fortunate to have as a mentor. I was 18; he was the most elegant, cultured, and kind man I had ever met. He was truly like a father and mother to me, teaching me some of the best life lessons of my existence. He always said, "don't confuse your presence with the event." This is also how I have tried to live my life.

There are five actors who for me were like the four cardinal points; they continue to live in cinema and in my heart: Sidney Poitier, one of his favorite films is James Clavell's To Sir, with Love, then Richard Burton, James Earl Jones. Or Peter O’Toole, the other film I love is Lawrence of Arabia, and finally Katherine Hepburn.

I watched them and thought: they moved me, educated me, inspired me, I felt loved by them, even though I didn't know them. I felt they were communicating something to me; I tried to emulate them in my work and to be someone to look up to and admire. The fact is, and I always say it: "you can't be what you can't see."

Katherine Hepburn is the only actress on this list.

She was beautiful, ahead of her time, incredibly intelligent, she had moral principles. I identified with her, there was something that struck me, and I recognized myself in it, believe it or not. Since I'm here, I should add a sixth name: Cicely Tyson.

You also declared yourself a big fan of Mads Mikkelsen.

He's great. Why? For the cheekbones, let's start with those, for his calmness, he's fascinating (laughs, ed.).

I love that film where he plays the mute warrior, Valhalla Rising: he's a masterful actor, a sweet man, a truly lovely person, it was a real pleasure working with him in Hannibal.

What kind of cinephile do you consider yourself, and what other films do you love to rewatch?

Gandhi, The Green Mile, Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, there are so many. I rewatch them endlessly, hoping to learn something; it's hard to describe in words, or to summarize in a catchy phrase, but something resonates within me and inspires me to want to do work that touches people and moves them at a soul level.

When you look back at your career after 2000, which projects mean the most to you?

There are a couple of things I'm really proud of, one is the sitcom Black-ish, it was really important to me, we were talking about topics that black people in America have been talking about for 100 years. Then I also had the honor of playing Nelson Mandela in the 2014 miniseries Madiba.

Matrix, a film that revolutionized cinema: would you ever have expected it?

I didn't think about its relevance; all I knew was that when I read the script, it felt like the most original material I had ever seen. I understood that we were making something that had never been done before. The Wachowskis described what they wanted to do as "a live-action Japanese animation film," and it was a concept I could understand, and they succeeded. We worked a lot on the physical aspects, training a lot.

Only when I saw the film for the first time did I think: There are so many beautiful, philosophical, religious, mystical, and metaphysical things that make it truly universal, as well as the action scenes. Even the action makes it universal. I didn't think about the relevance; I just knew it was something different, new, special, and I was grateful to be a part of it.

What will be in your near future?

I'm entering the world of directing; there are a couple of projects I'm developing, in one André Holland will be the protagonist. There's another one based on a novel that I can't really talk about, but I'm working on it.

That's where I see myself.