Zoë Kravitz Says She Was Turned Down for Batman: Dark Knight Rises Due to the Color of Her Skin

The Batman actress Zoȅ Kravitz revealed that she was previously turned down for The Dark Knight Rises for being too “urban.”

In a lengthy new interview with The Observer, focusing on Kravitz’s career, family, and life, the 33-year-old actress briefly touched upon her experience with rejection and how her biracial background has factored into career opportunities.

“I don’t know if [the rejection] came directly from Chris Nolan,” Kravitz told Observer. “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.”

The role of Catwoman in Dark Knight Rises would end up going to actress Anne Hathaway. 

In an act of irony, Kravitz would of course go on to play Catwoman in Matt Reeves’ The Batman alongside Robert Pattinson, Paul Dano as Riddler, Colin Farrell as the Penguin, and Jeffrey Wright as Lieutenant Gordon. When she received the news, Kravitz had no shortage of well-wishers.

“My phone was blowing up more than any birthday I’ve ever had,” Kravitz said.

It would seem the praise was merited, considering IGN’s review of The Batman noted that Kravitz’s work as Selina Kyle/Catwoman was one of the film’s standout performances.

(Photo by Cindy Ord/WireImage)

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.