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The Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss Says She Was 'Offered Grandmother Role' Day After Turning 40

Photo credit: John Lamparski - Getty Images
Photo credit: John Lamparski - Getty Images

Actor Carrie-Anne Moss has reportedly discussed ageism and double standards in Hollywood, revealing that she was offered a grandmother role in a script the day after her 40th birthday.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 53-year-old Matrix star recalled the incident while recently acting as a moderator for an event for filmmaker Justine Bateman's new book Face: One Square Foot of Skin.

'I had heard that at 40 everything changed,' she said, per the publication. 'I didn't believe in that because I don't believe in just jumping on a thought system that I don't really align with.'

The actor reportedly continued, noting: 'But literally 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."

'I may be exaggerating a bit, but it happened overnight. I went from being a girl to the mother to beyond the mother.'

During the conversation, Moss also reportedly noted the dramatic difference in how male actors are treated and perceived as they age in comparison, adding that she didn't want to have to change herself for the industry, though it was 'kind of brutal' witnessing the transition in her career.

'You don't feel like you've aged much and suddenly you're seeing yourself onscreen,' she said. 'I would look at these French and European actresses and they just had something about them that felt so confident in their own skin. I couldn't wait to be that. I strive for that. It's not easy being in this business. There's a lot of external pressure.'

Photo credit: George Pimentel - Getty Images
Photo credit: George Pimentel - Getty Images

The Jessica Jones star is currently preparing for the release of The Matrix 4, in which she reprises her role as Trinity.

In an interview for Empire Magazine last June, the actor of her return to the franchise: 'When it was brought to me in the way that it was brought to me, with incredible depth and all of the integrity and artistry that you could imagine, I was like, "This is a gift." It was just very exciting.'

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