Carrie-Anne Moss Says She Was Not Paid Enough for 'The Matrix'

Carrie-Anne Moss is a legend in the world of Sci-Fi. After her lead role in "The Matrix," she was poised to be the biggest star of her generation.

She played the role of Trinity, the ever-capable ally and love interest who served alongside Neo, played by Keanu Reeves, and Morpheus, played by Laurence Fishburne.

After her burst into the limelight, the actress has moved in and out of the spotlight, featuring in plenty of shows with varying degrees of success. Her other notable credits run the gamut from the memorable "Chocolat," "Memento," to the very forgettable "Pompeii," "Silent Hill: Revelation."

However, throughout her career, which has spanned more than three decades, Moss' most famous role is still — and probably will always be — her role in "The Matrix."

Although "The Matrix" skyrocketed Moss to fame, her financial status wasn't instantly commensurate with her popularity. Before she started working on the film, Moss was having a rough time as an actor. According to Chatelaine, Moss was supposed to be featured on "Dark Justice," which was canceled after two seasons.

Her career took a hit after the show's cancellation. Moss took a couple of parts in television here and there, but it was not enough to take care of her financial dilemma. "I had no money. Zero. I had to get an apartment because I'd just broken up with my boyfriend," Moss told Chatelaine. Somebody told Mr. Spelling, so he advanced me $10,000."

After several auditions, She eventually secured the role of Trinity in "The Matrix." However, her financial circumstances remained the same for a while.

"I wasn't paid much money to do the Matrix," Moss revealed. "It took a year of my life, and I lost my SAG [Screen Actors Guild] insurance because I was working out of the country [in Australia]. I thought, 'My God, I'm going to have to wait on tables while I have this huge movie coming out.'"

When she was younger, Moss had an epiphany that inspired her to start acting. This occurred when she encountered two beautiful strangers on her way to Los Angeles.

"These two blonds, sort of beauty pageant girls, came into the elevator. They were gorgeous. They were dolled up," Moss told Monte Cristo Magazine. "I remember feeling like the air came out of the room, and I got tiny, and I just wanted to stare at them because I had never seen anyone that looked like that."

The incident stuck with her and influenced her decision to act. After she finished high school, Moss moved to California and began to study acting. Along the line, she picked up acting and had the privilege to work across Europe and North America. It took a while before her passion for acting was reignited. This happened after she saw the 1989 film titled "Field of Dreams."

"I sat in the movie theatre and thought at that moment, 'I'm changing my life right now,' and I did," she told Monte Cristo Magazine.

Before the advent of 1999's "The Matrix," one of the actress's earliest roles was the 1993 supernatural drama "Matrix." The television show explored a hitman Steve Matrix who dies and must atone for his sins on Earth to avoid eternal damnation. The actress played the role of Liz Teel, a companion and love interest for the protagonist.

Unfortunately, the 1993 "Matrix" lasted for a single season with 13 episodes in total. Between this and the 1999 "The Matrix," she had another slew of roles on notable shows, like "Baywatch," "L.A. Law," "Models Inc.," and "F/X The Series."

In addition, she made her film debut in 1994 with "Flashfire," an action-thriller film starring Billy Zane. It followed the story of a policeman who got into trouble for imprisoning a colleague.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the "Matrix" star revealed that the day after she turned 40, she was given the role of a grandmother.

"I had heard that at 40, everything changed. I didn't believe in that because I don't believe in just jumping on a thought system that I don't align with," the actress explained.

Moss admitted that the transition was "kind of brutal" to witness and process partly because male actors are usually cut the slack in Hollywood.

"The day after my 40th birthday, I was reading a script that had come to me, and I was talking to my manager about it. She was like, 'Oh, no, no, no, it's not that role you're reading for, it's the grandmother,'" the actress proceeded. "I may be exaggerating a bit, but it happened overnight. I went from being a girl to being a mother to being a mother. You don't feel like you've aged much, and suddenly you're seeing yourself on screen," she concluded.