Game of Thrones star turned down Shang-Chi role for The Matrix Resurrections

Game of Thrones actress Jessica Henwick chose to audition for The Matrix Resurrections over Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Quite a luxurious position to be in, we'd say, which she recalled in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.

"I got an email about [Resurrections] offering me a self-tape [audition], but I actually turned it down first. I was on an extended trip [in a Spanish desert] and it wasn't the place to go make a self-tape."

Related: The Matrix Resurrections trailer brings back Neo and Trinity

Approximately a month went by, but The Matrix director Lana Wachowski still hadn't managed to find the right fit for Bugs – a blue-haired character with a white rabbit tattoo – and so Henwick self-taped from the comfort of her own home this time, which resulted in a face-to-face chemistry read in Los Angeles.

The only issue with that was she was then invited to screen test for Shang-Chi.

"[The studios] knew about the other offers, and both of them gave me the offer on the stipulation that I could only audition for one or the other," she revealed. "And there was no guarantee that I would get either.

"It was a red pill, blue pill moment for me."

Related: Game of Thrones star teases Trinity's role in The Matrix Resurrections

Iron Fist and The Defenders fans will remember that the star had already worked with Marvel – playing Colleen Wing – so the ultimatum wasn't as tough as you'd expect.

"I've obviously done Marvel TV, so I was already in the universe. I knew that joining The Matrix is not an opportunity that you get every day. Lana has had so many offers to make more Matrix films. I just knew it was now or never.

"Whereas, obviously, Marvel is a huge, wonderful company that makes films very, very regularly," Henwick explained.

The Matrix 4 is scheduled for release on December 22, 2021 in cinemas and on HBO Max in the US.

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Dan Seddon

Reporter, Digital Spy 

Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment. 

In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.