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Kravitz’s star on the rise

Actress in multiple films this season

Kam Williams
Kravitz’s star on the rise
Zoë Kravitz in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Born December 1, 1988, Zoë Isabella Kravitz is the daughter of five-time Grammy-winner Lenny Kravitz and Emmy-nominated actress Lisa Bonet (for The Cosby Show). The versatile entertainer has followed in the footsteps of both of her parents, between fronting the bands Elevator Fight and Lolawolf and an acting career that lately has enjoyed a meteoric rise.

This spring alone, Zoë has a half-dozen films released in theaters, including the blockbusters Insurgent and Mad Max: Fury Road, as well as Good Kill, The Road Within, Dope and Treading Water. Here, she talks about life and about her latest movies.

Kam Williams: How do you explain your career taking off this year? You’re in a half dozen new movies this spring: Insurgent, Treading Water, The Road Within, Good Kill, Mad Max and Dope.

Zoë Kravitz: I don’t know, man. I’ve basically been working really hard for the past couple years. And the nature of the film business is that movies come out when they come out, and these all just happen to be coming out at the same time. [Laughs]

KW: How did you enjoy making Mad Max: Fury Road?

ZK: It was good. It was really intense. It was a very long process. It was a six- month shoot in Africa. And it was crazy. I mean, the stunts were kind of crazy, and they were all shot at real speed. The costumes were insane and the conditions were really harsh. So, it was a very intense film to make, but well worth it.

KW: Is it fair to assume that making Mad Max was more like shooting Insurgent than your other new films?

ZK: In some ways, yes, but I don’t even know if I can compare it to Insurgent. Mad Max is kind of like a beast of its own.

KW: What interested you in Good Kill, which is an excellent film? There, you play drone co-pilot Suarez, who is a pretty complicated character with an intriguing arc.

ZK: Thank you so much. When I read the script, it read like a science fiction film. And Andrew [writer/director Andrew Niccol] is known for sci-fi. But when I spoke to him, he said this picture was 100 percent factual, which blew my mind. I realized then how little I knew about the drone program. And I felt that, if I knew so little about it, there must be others who should be educated about what’s going on. So, first, I wanted to be a part of the project because I thought it was an important story to tell. On top of that, it’s rare to find roles for strong, young, feisty women, especially in a military film. And I love that Suarez ends up being the moral compass of the story, and that she’s also brave enough to stand up to all these men.

KW: I also thought you were great in Treading Water. What made you decide to play the love interest in that offbeat romantic dramedy?

ZK: I just found that story so bizarre. [Laughs] It’s a very sweet love story wrapped around an outlandish premise.

KW: They say it takes 90 days to get in the groove of a new job. Do you feel like you’ve been getting enough time to prepare for each new project?

ZK: This might surprise you, but I do feel like I have, because the shooting of all these films was spread out, for the most part. They just happen to be coming out at the same time.

KW: How do you prepare for each new role?

ZK: It kind of varies. I don’t have a method yet. It depends on the script and the character I think I need. I’ve worked with acting coaches, researched roles, and channeled different parts of myself. It’s on a case-by-case for me, right now.

KW: At just 26, you already have a solid background in various fields: acting, singing and songwriting, modeling and designing. Which feels the most comfortable, and what direction do you hope to take in the near future?

ZK: Music and acting are the most prominent. But I don’t like to compare them, since they’re both very, very important to me.