Architect Portrayed by
Helmut Bakaitis. He is the "father" of The Matrix and its predecessors, and an exceptionally powerful AI. The Oracle states that he tries to "balance the equations" of the Matrix while she unbalances them. The character first appears in
The Matrix Reloaded when Neo encounters him while looking for The Source. The Architect tells Neo that he must choose between saving the Matrix and saving Trinity. After Neo chooses the latter and surrenders himself to the machines to purge Smith from the Matrix, the Architect tells the Oracle at the end of
The Matrix Revolutions that he will honor the new human/machine truce and allow everyone who wishes to leave the Matrix to do so. As expected from an AI, the Architect is emotionless, analytical, logical, and pragmatic. He generally views humanity and human emotion with contempt if not outright misanthropy. Originally,
Sean Connery was offered the role but turned it down because he did not understand the story.
Axel Axel (played by
Leigh Whannell) is a crew member of the
Vigilant. When the crews of the
Vigilant,
Nebuchadnezzar, and
Logos go to help Neo reach the Source, Axel is the only non-Operator human other than Trinity to not enter the Matrix, owing to a broken leg. Instead, he stands guard, watching for any Sentinel attacks. He hobbles back to Jax soon after to inform him of an imminent attack, but the catwalk below him collapses from the weight of his leg brace, and Axel falls to his death.
Ballard Captain Ballard (played by
Roy Jones Jr.), is the captain of the
Zion hovercraft
Caduceus in the film
The Matrix Reloaded and the video game
Enter the Matrix. He is killed when Bane (possessed by Smith) pre-emptively detonates an EMP, leaving the human crewmembers defenseless against the machines.
Bane Bane (played by
Ian Bliss) is a crew member of the
Zion hovercraft
Caduceus in the films
The Matrix Reloaded and
The Matrix Revolutions. His consciousness is overwritten by Smith in the Matrix, allowing Smith to take control of Bane in the real world. He attempts to assassinate Neo, but is foiled by the Kid. He later attempts to convince Captain Ballard to search for the
Nebuchadnezzar, but is rebuffed. The
Caduceus is then sent to the front lines to defend against the machines, where Bane pre-emptively detonates the EMP, disabling all hovercraft and enabling the machines to massacre everyone. Bane/Smith is the only survivor and is found unconscious by the
Mjolnir. He then kills Maggie and stows aboard the
Logos just before Neo and Trinity depart for the machine city. He holds Trinity hostage and fights Neo, blinding the latter by cauterizing Neo's eyes. Despite this, Neo's real-world powers revealed that he could still see auras of all machines, and he kills Bane/Smith in the ensuing battle.
Binary Binary (played by Tahei Simpson) is a crew member of the
Vigilant. She, Vector, and Soren attack a backup power generator for the local power plant in the Matrix to assist Neo in reaching the Source, but are all immediately killed when the
Vigilant is destroyed by Sentinels in the real world. This forces Trinity to enter the Matrix and complete the
Vigilant crew's mission.
Cas Cas (played by
Gina Torres) is the widow of the
Nebuchadnezzar's former pilot
Dozer.
Ghost Ghost (played by
Anthony Wong) is the guns specialist of the
Logos ship in the
video game Enter the Matrix and the
feature films
The Matrix Reloaded and
The Matrix Revolutions. Ghost is described by the
Wachowskis as an "ascetic
Buddhist killer". A student of
philosophy, he quotes and/or refers to
Hume,
William James,
Nietzsche and especially
Kierkegaard. Ghost's name may be a reference to the phrase "
ghost in the machine", which describes the concept of mind-body dualism. Ghost's latest appearance was in the
MMORPG The Matrix Online. Due to copyright issues with
Anthony Wong, Ghost is bald and has been completely shaven of all facial hair. Ghost, along with "
the Twins", are the only recurring characters up-to-date to lack voice actors for
The Matrix Online. Ghost was the first to encounter "Trinity" inside the Matrix after her death, although it was not made clear whether this Trinity was 'real' or a simulation.
Councillor Hamann Councillor Hamann (played by
Anthony Zerbe) is a senior member of the Zion Council. He is supportive of Neo even though, by his own admission, he does not understand the nature of Neo's abilities.
Jax Jax (played by
Socratis Otto) is the operator of the
Vigilant. As Operator, he remained at the console when the crews of the
Vigilant,
Nebuchadnezzar, and
Logos assisted Neo with reaching the Source. Fellow
Vigilant crewmate Axel stayed in the real world as well, owing to a broken leg. Axel stood guard, watching for any Sentinel attacks. He hobbles back to Jax soon after to inform him of an imminent attack, but the catwalk below him collapses from the weight of his leg brace, and Axel falls to his death, while a piece of the broken catwalk impales Jax through his chair, killing him. His death prevents him from warning Soren, Vector, and Binary of the imminent Sentinel attack, and all three perish shortly afterwards when the
Vigilant is destroyed.
Keymaker Kid Michael Karl Popper (
a.k.a. The Kid), played by
Clayton Watson, a Zion-dwelling self-substantiated exile, appears in
The Matrix Reloaded,
The Matrix Revolutions, and
The Animatrix short, "
Kid's Story". Once a bluepill, he became self-aware and somewhat cognizant of Neo and the
Nebuchadnezzar's exploits. He deliberately committed suicide to free himself from the Matrix just before Agents confronted him, idolizing Neo afterwards. He eagerly volunteers to fight in the Battle of Zion, helping to reload APUs, and is the first to inform the civilian population of Zion that the war has ended.
Link Link (played by
Harold Perrineau) serves as the ship's pilot and operator for the crew of the
Zion hovercraft
Nebuchadnezzar, replacing Tank and Dozer. He is a man with questionable faith in those around him, as Morpheus is far more daring than any other captain he previously served under, and is not a believer in his wife's superstitions, initially refusing to wear her fortune necklace. However, by the end of
The Matrix Revolutions, he appears much more confident in those around him. He wears Zee's fortune necklace (saying "it can't hurt" at first) as he personally detonates the
Mjolnir's EMP, saving Zion, and later tells Zee he will never take off the necklace. He also leads Zion's cheer after Neo achieves peace between humans and machines. By the time of
The Matrix Resurrections sixty years later, Link is dead, as with everyone else who ever served aboard the same ship as Neo.
Lock Commander Jason Lock (played by
Harry J. Lennix) is the supreme commander of all military defense forces of the human city
Zion. His character appears in
The Matrix Reloaded,
Enter the Matrix, and
The Matrix Revolutions. He was born naturally in Zion and cannot enter the Matrix, nor is he familiar with it. Therefore, he has a practical mind dedicated to defending Zion and keeping its location a secret. Lock is in a relationship with Niobe, who was previously in a relationship with Morpheus. Lock also finds Morpheus's faith in Neo and the prophecy of the One irrational, and is frequently at odds with him and others who also believe in the prophecy. After the Council asks two ships to search for the
Nebuchadnezzar, Lock states that he finds it difficult to believe anyone would volunteer for such a daring mission, Niobe volunteers out of spite from being patronized. He continues leading the defense during the battle of Zion, but is enraged when the
Mjolnir (piloted by Niobe) miraculously arrives and sets off an EMP, disabling all machines, but also all of Zion's defenses. He then orders Zion to follow the backup plan, a bottlenecked last stand, which is ultimately unnecessary when Neo achieves a truce between the machines and humans. He is nicknamed "Deadbolt" by both Sparks and Captain Ballard, a reference to his uncompromising and abrasive nature.
Maggie Maggie (played by
Essie Davis) is the
Mjolnir's doctor. She takes care of Bane after the
Mjolnir find his unconscious body, unaware that Bane is possessed by Smith. She and Roland become suspicious of Bane/Smith after the latter states he remembers nothing from the ambush. Maggie attempts to administer a sedative at a later time to jog his memory, but is stabbed in the abdomen by Bane/Smith with her own scalpel, dying shortly afterwards.
Merovingian The Merovingian (also known as the Frenchman) is a character in
The Matrix Reloaded,
The Matrix Revolutions and
The Matrix Resurrections. He is portrayed by French actor
Lambert Wilson in all three films and voiced by
Robin Atkin Downes in
The Matrix: Path of Neo. He also played a prominent role in
The Matrix Online role-playing game. According to the Oracle, he is one of the oldest programs in the Matrix, and he himself states that he has survived multiple incarnations of the Matrix and confrontations with previous Ones. He and his wife Persephone operate a smuggling ring providing a haven for other exiled programs. He is subtly rude, quite arrogant, and certain that causality is the only real truth of the Matrix (as opposed to choice, which the Oracle believes), despite the fact that previous iterations of the Matrix failed because of a lack of choice given to its bluepill inhabitants. He despises the Oracle, asking Trinity to bring him "the eyes of the Oracle" as payment for freeing Neo from Mobil Avenue. He is also cynical and hedonistic, viewing love as an emotion equal to insanity, frequently committing adultery, and generally being pompous to all those around him. By the time of
The Matrix Resurrections, the Merovingian is shown to have lost much of his power, prestige and sanity over the sixty years that have passed since the end of the Machine War.
Mifune Captain Mifune (
Nathaniel Lees) is the head of
Zion's Armored Personnel Unit (APU) corps. He is one of the last APUs standing, but is killed when a massive amount of Sentinels swarm and maim him.
Niobe Persephone Roland Roland (played by
David Roberts) is the captain of the hovercraft
Mjolnir. He appears in the feature films
Reloaded,
Revolutions and the video games
Enter The Matrix and
The Matrix: Path of Neo. He is an older, hard-boiled captain who is initially skeptical of Neo and the One. He later welcomes the crews of the
Nebuchadnezzar and
Logos aboard on the way to Zion, as the former was destroyed and Niobe gives the latter to Neo and Trinity to reach the machine city. Roland initially flat-out rejects Niobe's plan to fly the
Mjolnir (the largest hovercraft in the human fleet) through a cramped maintenance shaft to save time, but eventually relents and mans the guns with everyone else during the journey back to Zion. The
Mjolnir arrives in Zion just in time to detonate a critical EMP, and Roland, along with everyone else, is overjoyed when it is revealed Neo has achieved peace between humans and machines. Roland does not appear in
The Matrix Resurrections, but the
Mnemosyne's medical officer, Ellster, reveals she is his granddaughter. Ellster also explains to Neo that Roland did not believe in him until Neo's final sacrifice, and in doing so, Neo had freed Roland's mind a second time.
Seraph Seraph (portrayed by
Collin Chou) is described as the personification of a sophisticated
challenge-handshake authentication protocol which guards the
Oracle. As a challenge handshake authentication protocol, Seraph is effectively a login screen that fights the user to authenticate their identity. He is also the medium through which the Oracle contacts people in the real world. Neo first discovers Seraph after being summoned to his location by the Oracle. After Seraph confirms Neo's identity by fighting him to a stalemate, he takes Neo through one of the Matrix's many backdoors, leading him to the Oracle. He later accompanies Morpheus and Trinity to Club Hel and successfully convinces the Merovingian and Trainman into releasing Neo from Mobil Avenue. He then guards Sati, but is unable to stop the rapidly multiplying Smiths from assimilating both of them. He is set free after Neo reloads the Matrix. He appears again in
The Matrix Online, protecting the Oracle. Seraph's code appearance is uniquely golden when compared to the rest of the Matrix, which appears as green. The Merovingian and other denizens of Club Hel also note that Seraph is an exiled program formerly employed by the Merovingian, and
The Matrix Online hints that he was once a Seraphim, the equivalent to Agents in a previous incarnation of the Matrix. Like other Seraphim, he had wings, which were burnt away when he betrayed the Merovingian. Nevertheless, Seraph remains one of the most powerful entities in the Matrix, being capable of defeating or stalemating all opponents with no apparent injury other than Smith, whom he claims he had defeated before. The role was initially offered to
Michelle Yeoh, but she declined due to a scheduling conflict. The character was changed to a male, with
Jet Li being offered a role. As Li declined the role, Chou signed on.
Soren Soren (played by
Steve Bastoni) is the captain of the
Vigilant. He is the first captain to volunteer to help find the Nebuchadnezzar, and is seen conversing with Morpheus when all the captains meet, implying they are either friends, Soren is a believer in the prophecy of the One, or both. He leads Binary and Vector in an attack on a backup power generator for the local power plant in the Matrix to assist Neo in reaching the Source, but is immediately killed alongside them when the
Vigilant is destroyed by Sentinels in the real world. This forces Trinity to enter the Matrix and complete the
Vigilant crew's mission.
The Twins The twins (portrayed by identical twins Neil and Adrian Rayment), are henchmen of the Merovingian. They are believed to be older versions of Agents from a previous iteration of the Matrix, before they became "Exiles", or rogue programs.
Vector Vector (played by Don Anjaya Battee) is a crew member of the
Vigilant. He, Binary, and Soren attack a backup power generator for the local power plant in the Matrix to assist Neo in reaching the Source, but are all immediately killed when the
Vigilant is destroyed by Sentinels in the real world. This forces Trinity to enter the Matrix and complete the
Vigilant crew's mission.
Zee Zee (played by
Nona Gaye) is a native Zionite who experienced the pain of losing her brothers
Dozer and
Tank (from the original
Matrix film), both of whom were killed while serving aboard the
Nebuchadnezzar. She is Link's superstitious wife, and worries for him as the
Nebuchadnezzar returns to Zion less frequently than other ships. She later joins the resistance and plays a critical role during the final battle at Zion, saving the Kid from a Sentinel, allowing him to shoot the dock gates open for the
Mjolnir (with Link inside) to enter Zion and deliver the battle-ending EMP. The role of Zee was originally given to singer/actress
Aaliyah, who was killed in a plane crash on August 25, 2001, before she could complete shooting her part for
The Matrix Reloaded. Many singers and actresses were named as potential replacements, including
Eva Mendes,
Samantha Mumba,
Brandy Norwood and
Tatyana Ali.
Ali actress
Nona Gaye was named as Aaliyah's replacement in April 2002. Gaye was nominated for an
NAACP Image Award along with co-star
Jada Pinkett Smith for the role of
Niobe. ==Introduced in
The Matrix Revolutions==