Recently, when Zoë Kravitz spoke candidly with The Guardian, she shared an anecdote about casting and The Dark Knight Rises.
In 2012, Kravitz attempted to audition for the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises, but was told she was too “urban” for the role. “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… Being a woman of colour and being an actor and being told at that time that I wasn’t able to read because of the colour of my skin, and the word urban being thrown around like that, that was what was really hard about that moment.”
As you can imagine, being this kind of honest and direct about such a touchy subject likely ruffled some feathers because Kravitz took to her Instagram yesterday (March 8) to post some clarification about the above anecdote. She noted that she had not attempted to audition for Catwoman back in 2012, but rather a much smaller role. She added,
“I did not mention this to point any fingers or make anyone seem racist, namely Chris Nolan, the film’s producers or anyone on the casting team because I truly do not believe anyone meant any harm. I was simply giving an example of what it was like to be a woman of color in this industry at that time.”
And I get it. I too am pretty blunt and that character trait tends to get me into precarious situations regularly. However, the truth is still the truth even when it’s not wrapped in bubble wrap with 47 disclaimers and delivered with a bouquet of euphemisms. Someone out there who worked on The Dark Knight Rises told Kravitz (or her team) that they weren’t going in an urban direction for the—very small, definitely not Catwoman—role she wanted to audition for. Kravitz is no fool and like most of us is well aware what “urban” is code for. And while she didn’t outright call anyone racist, she did acknowledge the racism that outlined that entire experience.
You know, this whole thing reminded me of an Anne Lamott quote I’ve heard/read a lot lately.
“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”
That’s true even if you’re not writing your stories down. And if you’re curious about how to behave better so you don’t become the bad guy even when you didn’t mean any harm, you’re going to want to start with a heaping dose of unlearning. Trust me.