10 Things You Didn't Realise Inspired Iconic Movie Voices

You'd assume playing an unstoppable AI as an old-fashioned newscaster would be a really dumb idea. And yet, that's exactly what Hugo Weaving did for Agent Smith. When he was cast in the role for The Matrix, Weaving didn't want the character to sound human or robotic and so, tried to find something in-between.

Weaving believed the character should sound monotone rather than robotic and so, drew inspiration from 1950s newsreaders like Walter Cronkite. Believing Smith should have a deep voice, he listened to the directors, The Wachowskis, and incorporated their voices into the character as well.

Smith was also based on a very obscure character in the British tv series, Red Dwarf. A hologram called Captain Hercule Platini, who only appeared in one episode, speaks in a clipped manner, which was the inspiration for Smith's unusual way of pausing at random intervals.

Although a lot of people assumed Weaving performed a generic robot voice for the character, it's clear he put in an astounding amount of effort and research to create one of the best villains in all of sci-fi.