Actress Zoe Kravitz Talks About Rejection And How Its Impacted Her Career; “Usually A Few Years Later, You’re like, OK, This Is Why This Didn’t Happen.”

Actress, singer, and director Zoe Kravitz is speaking candidly about her experiences in Hollywood and the harsh reality of rejection.

Before she landed the role of Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Kravitz was underutilized, taking on supporting or side characters in films like Divergent and X-Men First Class. The actress eventually got tired of being typecast and learned to cope with rejection. She told The Guardian, “Even though it’s sometimes hard to see that in the moment,” Kravitz says, “usually a few years later, you’re like, OK, this is why this didn’t happen.”

Kravitz tried to audition for Selena Kyle in 2012 for The Dark Knight Rises, and was told she was “too urban.”

“I don’t know if it came directly from Chris Nolan,” she says, anxious not to impugn the reputation of an award-winning director. “I think it was probably a casting director of some kind, or a casting director’s assistant,” she says. “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.”

Things began looking up for her when she landed a role in the HBO Max series Big Little Lies, in which she co-stars with Hollywood heavyweights Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern and Meryl Streep. However, by the time she finally landed the role of Catwoman, the actress reports, “My phone was blowing up more than any birthday I’ve ever had.”

Now that she’s solidified herself among the A-list, Kravitz is turning to directing. She will direct and Channing Tatum will star in Pussy Island, a genre thriller that Kravitz wrote with E.T. Feigenbaum. Bruce Cohen, Kravitz, Tiffany Persons and Tatum’s Free Association will produce. FilmNation will handle international rights and CAA Media Finance will rep domestic rights.