Early Roles The Cast Of The Matrix Movies Want You To Forget About

Taking the world by storm in 1999, "The Matrix" changed the face of action movies forever and was a watershed moment across multiple genres. Popularizing a number of sci-fi concepts and coining several new terms that became a part of our cultural landscape, the franchise created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski also served as pointed social allegory, with political and social subtexts that people are still uncovering to this day. 

Starring a mix of established stars, lesser-known names, and newcomers, the original trilogy of films and the 2021 legacy sequel featured broad ensemble casts. Big-screen icons like Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne helped catapult a number of young actors to stardom, including Carrie-Anne Moss and Jada Pinkett-Smith, while turning veteran journeymen like Hugo Weaving into household names. 

Whether they were big names already or emerging stars, they can all proudly point to their time in one of Hollywood's greatest sci-fi movie franchises. Thanks to "The Matrix," many of them could also thankfully bury some earlier, regrettable roles under a major box office smash. But we're not going to let them get off that easy. So plug in, upload, and follow the white rabbit, because this is a list of early roles that the cast of "The Matrix" movies want you to forget about.

Though "Robot in the Family" may be the worst film on this list of losers, the 2003 erotic thiller "On_Line" — and we use both of those terms very loosely — is without a doubt the most cringe-inducing film you're likely to find from one of the cast of "The Matrix." It stars Harold Perrineau, best known today for roles in "Lost" and "Oz," and who played a major role in "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" just a year after this abominable effort.

Nearly amateurish in execution, "On_Line" seems to have been made on a budget of zero dollars. It follows two friends (Perrineau and Josh Hamilton) who start their own adult website offering up web-based fantasy fulfillment that goes horribly wrong. Matters get further complicated when one of them becomes infatuated with a woman named Angel, who lives her entire life over a low-res webcam. 

Aside from the bad acting, terrible production, and groan-worthy story, "On_Line" isn't quite sure if it's trying to be funny, scary, or something in between. Maybe it's trying to say something about the emergence of online dating, but nothing really adds up. Not creepy enough to be a horror movie, not exciting enough to be a thriller, and not funny enough to make it a satirical black comedy, it's simply an uncomfortable watch from beginning to end.

Carrie-Anne Moss landed her breakout role in "The Matrix" in 1999 after just a handful of early films, turning overnight into one of the hottest names in Hollywood. Though her time on the A-List was short-lived, there's no denying her on-screen talent, to which her part in Netflix's "Jessica Jones" and her lead role in the Norwegian thriller "Wisting" can attest. Sadly, despite her formidable screen presence and immense ability, Moss has appeared in a number of awful movies throughout her career, and a few early ones definitely stand out. Topping the list is the forgotten Jeff Fahey-Gary Busey action movie "Lethal Tender," which looks like it was designed for cheap second-run theaters.

The film focuses on a Chicago cop (Fahey) who must stop a diabolical gang of villains from poisoning the WIndy City's water supply. Moss stars as a hostage taken by the baddies and used as a bargaining chip, after Fahey's oddball officer discovers the situation when he's sent to the city's water control plant to corral rowdy protesters.

A low-rent action movie with a hilariously awkward pun for a title ("legal tender," get it?), "Lethal Tender" somehow tries to turn Jeff Fahey into the next Keanu Reeves. But it's not exciting, charming, or fun enough to be the next "Point Break" or "Speed," and Moss seems like she's embarrassed to even be there. 

Neil Patrick Harris may be one of Hollywood's most underrated talents. He came to fame as a child star in 1989 on the family sitcom "Doogie Howser, M.D." and was careful to pick his parts after his career-defining role as a child surgeon. He found cult status as a ruthless totalitarian doctor of another sort in the sci-fi action satire "Starship Troopers," and eventually became an adult sitcom star for nearly a decade on "How I Met Your Mother." But despite being judicious about the projects he picked, Harris has turned up in a few notable disasters he likely regrets.

One such stinker is the family film "Purple People Eater," from his pre-"Doogie" days, released just a year before he hit it big in the TV medical comedy. Harris plays Billy, a young boy with a rock n' roll dream who brings a one-eyed, one-horned, giant purple people-eater from outer space down to Earth to help him form his own group (alongside "Saved by the Bell" star Dustin Diamond no less). In between musical guest spots from Little Richard and Chubby Checker, the monster also saves Billy's grandparents (Ned Beatty and Shelley Winters) from being thrown out of their home by a nasty landlord.

A movie so ridiculous and poorly made that the LA Times called it "amateurish," Harris is probably glad that this one has fallen into obscurity. But now you know about it ... sorry, Neil.

British actor Hugo Weaving already had a pretty decent career going when he took the role of Agent Smith in "The Matrix." But between that villainous role, and his part as Elf lord Elrond in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy two years later, Weaving went from British star to global icon almost overnight. Since then he's continued playing more famous roles, becoming known for his steely gaze, sinister scowl, and authoritative voice. But early in his career he appeared in a film that sits only in discount bins — or trash cans — today, the "Indiana Jones" rip-off "Sky Pirates."

Unashamedly copying the Harrison Ford classic, "Sky Pirates" centers on intrepid World War II flying ace Dakota Harris. While transporting a valuable and ancient device into the hands of the Allies, Harris is somehow transported to a bizarre limbo dimension that is home to the remnants of ships from across time. But once home, Harris is imprisoned and must escape to uncover the secrets of the otherworldly dimension and save the world.

One of the worst such knock-offs of the era, "Sky Pirates" mixes elements from a variety of better adventure movies, and Weaving probably wishes we'd forget he was even a part of it. Not because his role stands out, but because it doesn't. All his part as a random thug does is serve as a massive stain on his otherwise strong filmography.

For fans of "The Matrix," it may be hard to envision the great Gloria Foster as anything but the wise, sagely Oracle, dispensing esoteric wisdom and wry witticisms. Though she would sadly pass away before being able to complete her role in the film's pair of sequels, her scene in the first movie is one of its most unforgettable. So it may surprise some to learn that the kind, gentle Oracle is unlike many of the characters that Foster had played in the past. While her career only produced a handful of films, there's still one she'd probably want us to dis-remember: the infamous "Leonard: Part 6."

A spoof of spy movies, the film stars none other than Bill Cosby as a goofball secret agent named Leonard Parker. Despite its numbered subtitle, it's the first and only film in the imaginary "series," which sees retired CIA agent Parker called back into service to do battle with Foster's character, the wonderfully named Medusa Johnson. A diabolical vegetarian villainous, Johnson's plot to rule the world involves using brainwashed animals to attack the human populace.

Labeled the worst movie of the year by Roger Ebert, who called it "an all-time low" for Cosby — a man who would sink even lower later in his life — "Leonard: Part 6" is so infamously terrible that even its star disowned it before it hit theaters. If Cosby himself wanted us all to forget it had ever happened, we're sure Foster would too.

There have been many successful erotic thrillers in Hollywood history, but it's a subgenre that more often than not has been fraught with awkward, cringey failures. Actor Harry Lennix, who starred in "The Matrix" sequels "Reloaded" and "Revolutions" as Commander Lock, appeared in one such movie: the 1995 indie failure "Comfortably Numb," named for the classic Pink Floyd tune. In a role that Lennix can't possibly look back on with pride, he plays Hamlin Day, a lawyer who has worked his way up from the streets to become an accomplished attorney.

"Twin Peaks" star Dana Ashbrook plays William, a prominent lawyer who leaves his job in the Manhattan District Attorney's office. While out on a date, William meets a professional escort, and quickly falls in love with a woman who drags him down a sordid, dark path. Unfortunately, a potentially compelling story of power and corruption becomes little more than a platform for salacious melodrama. Though Lennix and the rest of the cast are all fine, the story is meandering, messy, and sloppily written, making it unlikely that Lennix wants audiences to revisit it anytime soon.