Zoë Kravitz Says She Was Told She Was Too ‘Urban’ for Batman in 2012

Matt Reeves’ The Batman is scoring rave reviews, not least for lead actress Zoë Kravitz’s portrayal of expert thief and feline fatale Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman. Her first foray into the Batman universe (a cameo as Catwoman in 2017’s The LEGO Batman Movie notwithstanding), however, was the result of a journey that began more than a decade ago, she told The Guardian in a recent interview. Kravitz explained she had tried to audition for The Dark Knight Rises back in 2012 but was told she was too “urban” for the role. The actress was quick to say she didn’t know if the decision had come directly from director Christopher Nolan himself, saying “it was probably a casting director of some kind, or a casting director’s assistant.” She added that “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.” This isn’t the first time the actress has recounted the experience, telling Nylon in 2015 that she hadn’t been able to get in the room for a “small role” in the film because “they weren’t ‘going urban.’” Kravitz continued: “It was like, ‘What does that have to do with anything?’ I have to play the role like, ‘Yo, what’s up, Batman? What’s going on wit chu?’”