Zoë Kravitz currently starring as Selena Kyle/Catwoman in the hit movie The Batman, but ironically, she was once turned down for the same role, in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises, for being “too urban.”
Anne Hathaway ultimately landed the part.
Kravitz revisited the raced-based slight in an interview with The Guardian, saying of Dark Knight trilogy director Christopher Nolan, “I don’t know if it came directly from Chris Nolan. I think it was probably a casting director of some kind, or a casting director’s assistant.”
She added, “Being a woman of color and being an actor and being told at that time that I wasn’t able to read because of the color of my skin, and the word ‘urban’ being thrown around like that, that was what was really hard about that moment.”
Zoë also expressed her triumph in scoring the role with director Matt Reeves — not just for her, but for other actresses of color. “It was crazy,” the 33-year-old admitted happily. “My phone was blowing up more than any birthday I’ve ever had.”
Kravitz trained for four months to play Kyle, who both tangles with and teams up with Robert Pattinson‘s Batman in the film.
“It’s a physical part. I wanted to make sure it felt believable that she was physically capable of doing all the things she was doing,” she explains. “I was actually stronger and more healthy than I’ve been in a long time.”
The actress also took in lots of footage of real cats doing their thing. “It was fun to play with different ways of walking, of being agile,” Kravitz says. “You know, you can’t read cats, which is why a lot of people feel uncomfortable around them.”
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