Born December 1, 1988, Zo\u00eb 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 Elevator Fight and Lolawolf and an acting career that has enjoyed a meteoric rise as of late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This spring alone, Zo\u00eb 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kam Williams:<\/strong> Hi Zo\u00eb, thanks for the interview. I\u2019m honored to have this opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Zoe Kravitz:<\/strong> No worries, Kam. How are you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Great, thanks. I don\u2019t know whether you\u2019re aware that I\u2019ve interviewed both your mom and your dad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> No, I wasn\u2019t aware. Cool!<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Also, the headline, when I interviewed your mom, read \u201cLisa Bonet Ate No Basil,\u201d which I assume you know is a palindrome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> No, I never heard that before. That\u2019s cool, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> How do you explain your career taking off this year? You\u2019re in a half dozen new movies this spring: Insurgent, Treading Water, The Road Within, Good Kill, Mad Max and Dope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know, man. I\u2019ve 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]<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> How did you enjoy making Mad Max: Fury Road?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Is it fair to assume that making Mad Max was more like shooting Insurgent than your other new films?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> In some ways, yes, but I don\u2019t even know if I can compare it to Insurgent. Mad Max is kind of like a beast of its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> 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% 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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s also brave enough to stand up to all these men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> It\u2019s very well-written. The dialogue uses so much military and contemporary cultural jargon that it\u2019s very convincing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Like \u201cGood kill!\u201d [Chuckles]<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> I also thought you were great in Treading Water. What made you decide to play the love interest in that offbeat romantic dramedy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I just found that story so bizarre. [Laughs] It\u2019s a very sweet love story wrapped around an outlandish premise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Yes, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> That\u2019s so sweet!<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> She asks: What\u2019s the secret of your mother, father and stepfather getting along so well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know what the secret is. We\u2019re a family\u2026 We all love each other\u2026 and we\u2019ve all worked through whatever issues there\u2019ve ever been, and in a healthy way. So, we all get along. Love conquers all, I guess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> 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\u2019ve been getting enough time to prepare for each new project lately?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Children\u2019s book author Irene Smalls asks: How do you prepare for each new role?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> It kind of varies. I don\u2019t have a method yet. It depends on the script and the character I think I need. I\u2019ve worked with acting coaches, researched roles, and channeled different parts of myself. It\u2019s on a case-by-case for me, right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Harriet Pakula-Teweles says: 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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Music and acting are the most prominent. But I don\u2019t like to compare them, since they\u2019re both very, very important to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Editor\/Legist Patricia Turnier was wondering whether your having mixed ethnic roots might have played a role in your eating disorders. She asks because she knows several people struggling with society\u2019s tendency to narrowly define beauty. Do you think women are unfairly judged by their physical appearance?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I do think women are unfairly judged by their physical appearance, but I don\u2019t think it had anything to do with being mixed-race. In my opinion, mixed-race people are the most beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> \u201cRealtor to the Stars\u201d Jimmy Bayan asks: What would be your dream spot to live in L.A. and in the world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I can\u2019t say about L.A., because I don\u2019t live there. I love the Bahamas. Our family is from there. I also like Berlin and would love to live there for a while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> [LOL] No, I might not even know until someone asks me the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> When you look in the mirror, what do you see?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> It depends on the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I haven\u2019t read a book in a long time. I\u2019ve just been reading scripts lately. It\u2019s terrible. [Laughs] I think the last one I read was the entire Divergent series. [Laughs] http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/0062278789\/ref=nosim\/thslfofire-20<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The music maven Heather Covington question: What was the last song you listened to?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I recent to Erykah Badu\u2019s \u201cMama\u2019s Gun.\u201d That whole album. http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/exec\/obidos\/ASIN\/B001NU0K3S\/ref=nosim\/thslfofire-20<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> What is your favorite dish to cook?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Squash and quinoa and kale and salmon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The Uduak Oduok question: Who is your favorite clothes designer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I don\u2019t know. I always say Alexander Wang because he\u2019s one of my dearest friends and he\u2019s the one I\u2019m most familiar with. I don\u2019t know a lot about designers\u2019 names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> If you could have one wish instantly granted, what would that be for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> It sounds like a silly pageant answer, but world peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> That\u2019s not silly at all, since this is a time when it\u2019s really needed. Harriet also asks: With so many classic films being redone, is there a remake you\u2019d like to star in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Ooh! That\u2019s a hard question, because I believe \u201cIf it ain\u2019t broke, don\u2019t fix it.\u201d I\u2019d have to think about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is your earliest childhood memory?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I remember playing at my grandmothers\u2019 houses when I was about 4 or 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The Melissa Harris-Perry question: How did your first big heartbreak impact who you are as a person?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I think it probably just taught me that you will always heal. That this too shall pass. The first time you feel that sort of pain, you think it\u2019s never going to go away. Once you do survive it, you realize you can survive anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The Viola Davis question: What\u2019s the biggest difference between who you are at home as opposed to the person we see on the red carpet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Well, , at home, I\u2019m in sweatpants, I\u2019m not wearing any makeup, and I\u2019m not standing with my hand on my hip while smiling. [Laughs] I try to be honest in interviews, but obviously you have to be careful about everything you say and do when you\u2019re being recorded. I\u2019m much more comfortable and quieter at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The Teri Emerson question: When was the last time you had a good laugh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Earlier today. I like to laugh a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> What was your first job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> I never had a real job. I started acting in high school, and then I started working. So, I never got to have that experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> All the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The Anthony Anderson question: If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Flight! 100%! Flight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> What advice do you have for anyone who wants to follow in your footsteps?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Be confident, and just do it. It\u2019s all about not questioning what everyone else is thinking, since they\u2019re probably looking to others to know what is or isn\u2019t cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks: Do you have a favorite charity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> No, not one favorite, I\u2019ve worked with a few different charities, including one in Africa dealing with the AIDS epidemic. I also like helping people who need food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The Judyth Piazza question: What key quality do you believe all successful people share?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Being genuine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> The Tavis Smiley question: How do you want to be remembered?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Again, as genuine. I think the best that you can do is stay true to who you are, whatever that is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Your parents are two of the most grounded and normal celebrities I\u2019ve interviewed. And you strike me as just as real and accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Oh, thank you so much. I appreciate that, since that\u2019s all we really have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> What\u2019s in your wallet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> A Metro card, a credit card, a few dollar bills, and a chai tea card. After I buy a certain number of cups, I get a free one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n KW:<\/strong> Thanks again for the time, Zo\u00eb, and best of luck with all your films. And I hope to speak to you again soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ZK:<\/strong> Alright. Take care, Kam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To see a trailer for Mad Max, visit: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Yd7kZaMsPDM<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To see a trailer for Good Kill, visit: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y5RBtNCaogU<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To see a trailer for Treading Water, visit: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mCpQeywlrV4<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To see a trailer for Insurgent, visit: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=IR-l_TSjlEo<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n To see a trailer of The Road Within, visit: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-MYzi2TPRcM<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n