Actress and Hollywood royalty Zoë Kravitz is officially Catwoman after making her debut in the Matt Reeves-directed “The Batman.” Recently the 33-year-old opened up about portraying the iconic role–one that’s been a long-time coming after the “DOPE” actress revealed that she auditioned for a previous “Batman” installment but was allegedly turned down for being too “urban” or otherwise not considered palatable for a white audience.
While out promoting the film, which premiered at the top of March, Kravitz opened up about her failed audition for a role in “The Dark Knight,” telling The Guardian that it “I don’t know if it came directly from Chris Nolan. I think it was probably casting director of some kind, or a casting director’s assistant,” she said.
“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,” the Los Angeles native continued.
It wasn’t the first time the star mentioned losing out on the opportunity. During a 2015 interview with Nylon, Kravitz said she was interested in a small part but couldn’t get in the room because the film wasn’t “going urban” for the role. “It was like, ‘What does that have to do with anything?’ I have to play the role like, ‘Yo, what’s up, Batman? What’s going on with you?’ ” the actor added at the time.
Still, Kravitz noted that she since has come to embrace the positive parts of rejection, noting that “Even though it’s sometimes hard to see that in the moment, usually a few years later, you’re like, ‘Okay, this is why this didn’t happen.’ “
Kravitz, who’s also starred in several major projects, including “Mad Max: Fury Road” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” said “it was crazy,” upon hearing that she scored the gig as Selina Kyle, Gotham’s infamous cat burglar in “The Batman.” “My phone was blowing up more than any birthday I’ve ever had,” she added.
Among those showering her with congratulatory remarks was Academy Award-winning actress and former Catwoman Halle Berry. Unlike Kravitz’s character, Berry’s Catwoman, Patience Phillips, had no interaction with Bruce Wayne and didn’t live in Gotham.
Ahead of the film release, Berry lent some advice to Kravitz, telling the young actress, “Get ready, they might come for you – but don’t let that affect your interpretation about who she thinks Catwoman might be,” referencing the role that earned her the title Worst Actress during the 2005 parody award show the Golden Raspberry Awards.
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