Arts & Entertainment
Zoë Kravitz: The ‘Mad Max’ Interview
B
orn December 1, 1988, Zoë Isabella
Kravitz is the daughter of 5-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 Eleva-
tor Fight and Lolawolf and an acting career
that has enjoyed a meteoric rise as of late.
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 With-
in, Dope and Treading Water. Here, she
talks about life and about her latest movies.
Kam Williams: Hi Zoë, thanks for the
interview. I’m honored to have this opportu-
nity.
Zoë Kravitz: No worries, Kam. How are
you?
KW: Great, thanks. I don’t know whether
you’re aware that I’ve interviewed both
your mom and your dad.
ZK: No, I wasn’t aware. Cool!
C ELEBRITY
I NTERVIEW
by Kam
Williams
drome.
ZK: No, I never heard that before. That’s
cool, too.
KW: How do you explain your career tak-
ing 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.
ZK: 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. [Giggles]
It was a six-month shoot in Africa. And it was
crazy, Kam. I mean, the stunts were kind of
crazy, and they were all shot at real speed
KW: Also, the headline, when I inter-
viewed your mom, read “Lisa Bonet Ate No
Basil,” which I assume you know is a palin-
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,
Kam. 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 Insur-
gent 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: It’s very well-written. The dialogue
uses so much military and contemporary
cultural jargon that it’s very convincing.
ZK: Like “Good kill!” [Chuckles]
KW: I also thought you were great in
Treading Water. What made you decide to
play the love interest in that offbeat roman-
tic dramedy?
ZK: I just found that story so bizarre.
[Laughs] It’s a very sweet love story
wrapped around an outlandish premise.
KW: Yes, it’s definitely unique. Editor
Lisa Loving says: Zoe is super-duper cool.
Just watching the trailer for her new movie
with Dev Patel, The Road Within, made me
cry.
ZK: That’s so sweet!
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KW: She asks: What’s the secret of your
mother, father and stepfather getting along
so well?
ZK: I don’t know what the secret is.
We’re a family… We all love each other…
and we’ve all worked through whatever
issues there’ve ever been, and in a healthy
way. So, we all get along. Love conquers
all, I guess.
KW: Sangeetha Subramanian says: Hi
Zoe! They say it takes 90 days to get in the
grove of a new job. Do you feel like you’ve
been getting enough time to prepare for
each new project lately?
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.
Zoë Kravitz
KW: Children’s book author Irene Smalls
asks: 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 chan-
neled different parts of myself. It’s on a
case-by-case for me, right now.
KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles says: At just
26, you already have a solid background in
various fields: acting, singing and songwrit-
ing, 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 promi-
nent. But I don’t like to compare them,
since they’re both very, very important to
me.
KW: Editor/Legist Patricia Turnier was
wondering whether your having mixed eth-
nic roots might have played a role in your
eating disorders. She asks because she
knows several people struggling with soci-
ety’s tendency to narrowly define beauty.
Do you think women are unfairly judged by
their physical appearance?
ZK: I do think women are unfairly judged
by their physical appearance, but I don’t
think it had anything to do with being
mixed-race. In my opinion, mixed-race peo-
ple are the most beautiful.
KW: “Realtor to the Stars” Jimmy Bayan
asks: What would be your dream spot to
live in L.A. and in the world?
ZK: I can’t say about L.A., because I
don’t live there. I love the Bahamas. Our
family is from there. I also like Berlin and
would love to live there for a while.
KW: Is there any question no one ever
asks you, that you wish someone would?
ZK: [LOL] No, I might not even know
until someone asks me the question.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what
do you see?
ZK: It depends on the day.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson ques-
tion: What was the last book you read?
ZK: I haven’t read a book in a long time.
See KRAVITZ on page 11
Page 6 The Portland and Seattle Skanner May 13, 2015