20 Things You Somehow Missed In The Matrix

Prior to the casting stage, the filmmakers were determined that every major member of the cast should fully understand the story that was being told. After years of having the idea rejected because it was "too complex", having actors on board who grasped both the themes and the narrative was essential.

The Wachowski's required the actors to read Jean Baudrillard's Simulacra and Simulation, Kevin Kelly's Out of Control, and Dylan Evans's Evolutionary Psychology before even opening the script. In a small tribute to this, Neo hides his "product" in a hollowed-out copy of Simulacra and Simulation at the beginning of the movie.