Zoë Kravitz Speaks on Being Told She Was Too “Urban” During ‘Dark Knight Rises’ Audition

In a new interview, Zoë Kravitz said that while auditioning for The Dark Knight Rises, she was rejected for being “too urban”.

Hulu executives aren’t the only people that Zoë Kravitz is going after. In new interview with TheObserver, The Batman actress opened up about auditioning for an undisclosed part in 2012 Christopher Nolan-directed film The Dark Knight Rises, where she allegedly faced colorism.

“I don’t know if it came directly from Chris Nolan,” Kravitz said. “I think it was probably a casting director of some kind, or a casting director’s assistant…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.”

Kravitz also spoke about the audition in a 2015 NYLON article, sharing that she auditioned for a smaller part in the film, also mentioning that the team wasn’t looking “going urban” for the role. “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 with you?’”

But Kravitz eventually had the last laugh. In October 2019, she was casted as Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Matt Reeves-directed The Batman, playing the object of Batman/Bruce Wayne’s (Robert Pattinson) affections. Kravitz told Observer that “it was crazy” when it was revealed that she was casted, adding “my phone was blowing up more than any birthday I’ve ever had.”