Five Minutes With: Zoe Kravitz

Cast member Zoe Kravitz poses at the premiere of the HBO television series "Big Little Lies" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Cast member Zoe Kravitz poses at the premiere of the HBO television series "Big Little Lies" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Zoe Kravitz, star of Big Little Lies, talks about exploring women, standing up for your rights and finding empathy.

WHO SHE PLAYS: Bonnie Carlson. Laid back, yoga-loving hippie chick and second wife to Ed McKenzie (Adam Scott) who was formerly married to Madeline McKenzie (Reese Witherspoon).

MATERNAL STATUS: Step mother of Madeline’s 2 children and has one of her own with her husband

AGENDA: A peace-keeper. Wants everyone to get along.

REAL LIFE: Daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet, she has starred in Mad Max: Fury Road, and the Divergent series. She will next be seen in Rock that Body with Scarlet Johansson. She is also a musician and performs with her band Lolawolf.

The show reveals the ferocity a woman has about her children and the lengths she will go to, to protect them. You’re not yet a mother but do you agree with that idea?

Ferocity’s a perfect word because as women we are fierce. We’re fierce in the way that we love, in the way that we work. And even though I don’t have a child myself, I think women, when they love, they love hard. And I would go above and beyond for my sisters or my friends or people I care about. I think women naturally, we’re protectors. That’s what we do. It’s in our nature. It’s in our spirit.

I know you knew Nicole before but apparently you all became friends on the set?

I think so, yes. We didn’t have to try though. I think every woman involved in this was genuinely curious and interested in all the other women in the show. It was an honour and a privilege to be around these women. I wanted to pick their brains. I wanted to learn about them. And I wanted to share myself with them as well. And I think that genuine curiosity that we had about each other made it so easy to connect.

We’re very familiar with your famous parents. What’s your relationship like with them?

My relationship with my famous parents or, a.k.a. my parents, is very close. They’ve always been incredibly supportive. I love them as human beings. I’m very lucky to have that. Not everyone likes their parents. Not everyone is able to connect with them beyond the biological fact but what ties me to my parents isn’t just the fact that I’m their kid. I’m actually fascinated by them as people. And I want to know what they think and what they feel. And as artists I admire them greatly. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have that support. And I don’t think I’d be able to make it in this industry. Not in terms of having the opportunity but actually staying sane if I didn’t have strong-minded parents like I do.

You’ve been vocal about this current administration. How do you think it will affect the entertainment industry?

I think we’re all going to be affected by what’s going on right now, not just in the entertainment industry. I think the entire world has been affected and will continue to be affected by what’s going on in the world. It’s always been an artist’s responsibility to reflect the truth and reflect what’s going on in the world so I love how vocal everyone has been so far about the way they feel about what’s going on. And I think now with social media, not only do artists have a voice but everyone has a voice. And it’s kind of great to find that bridge where everyone is communicating with each other and marching and going out to the streets. It’s beautiful to see. So I think I give kudos to everyone that’s been active right now. And I think as an artist, just continue to speak our minds and tell the truth. That’s what we can do.

Of all the characters, you seem like the least crazy. Are you very much like Bonnie?

I am a lot less like Bonnie than people assume I am. I think a lot of the judgment that is passed on her based off of the way she looks and the way she acts and the way she dresses and her kindness and her passiveness, the judgment that, especially Madeline has towards her, is the same judgment that I think I would have towards her. I think it’s very easy to peg her as this one-dimensional kind of arm candy thing and take her for granted, take her kindness for granted. And so it was an interesting exercise for me to have to find truth in that and find empathy for her. You see that her kindness is so genuine. And it’s easy to want to judge that immediately and think, you’re being manipulative or your kindness isn’t real. And so to play someone that I initially wanted to judge myself, and have to get to a place was able to see through her eyes was very interesting.

Sex plays a big role for all the women and is a window into what they’re like as people…

I think sex is hopefully us in our rawest form when we’re doing that. And I think it’s kind of the point of the show is to present these women in their rawest form. We are tearing these characters wide open. And so I think that seeing them and how they are sexually, is such an important part of that. It’s part of who we are. You can’t not go there with something like this.

When there’s a group of female actors, the issue of whether there was cat fighting is always an element. When we talk to male actors that question never comes up.

I think it’s more about us being interested in women in a different kind of a way. What seems to be interesting, up until now is to watch women be sexy or to fight. And that’s what we want to see from women. We don’t want to see really who they are and what’s going on. And we don’t want to explore women. Or we haven’t really explored women the way that we explore men in terms of film and television. So I think it’s about being more interested in females and what we have to offer.

 

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