Since its release earlier this month,The Batmanhas generated a huge amount of buzz and dominated the box office. With a director like Matt Reeves and a cast of A-listers, the movie was bound to be a success, and, sure enough, fans can’t get enough of stars Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz.
In the biggest movie of her career, Kravitz stunned audiences as thefierce and highly-skilled Catwoman, and her previous roles likely prepared her for that. Before she was Catwoman, Kravitz was Angel inX-Men: First Class, and after that, she played a line ofotherstrong, independent women. This article, which chronicles her best movies and series to date, features a handful of them.
X-Men: First Class (2011)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn,X-Men: First Classis set during the Cold War and centres on super-powered mutants Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender). The fifth movie in theX-Menseries, it was released as a soft reboot/prequel and chronicles Xavier’s and Lehnsherr’s past, exploring how the X-Men came to be formed and how the two wound up being mortal enemies (dubbed Professor X and Magneto, respectively).
In this movie, Kravitz plays Angel Salvadore, also known as Tempest. Like Xavier and Lehnsherr, Angel is a mutant whose abilities include flying and expelling flaming acid. Working at a strip club, she is approached by Xavier and Lehnsherr to join the X-Men and fight against mutant supremacist Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). Though Kravitz has relatively little screen time inFirst Class, her performance as badass Tempest left an impression thatThe Batmanwould later confirm: this actress is made forsuperhero movies.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
There is much debate over whetherMad Max: Fury Roadis a reboot or sequel of the originalMad Maxmovie. The director himself, George Miller, argues that it is neither one of the other, but a revisiting of the 1979 classic. Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland,Fury Roadstars Tom Hardy as Max (previously played by Mel Gibson), and Charlize Theron as new character Imperator Furiosa. In an effort to flee from tyrannical leader Immortan Joe, the two rebels join forces and attempt to outrun the latter in a high-speed chase across the desert.
Immortan Joe has five wives inFury RoadthatImperator Furiosatries to save. Kravitz plays one of these wives, Toast, whose survival skills are unmatched by the others. A force to be reckoned with, she isn’t afraid of using violence and plays a pivotal role in Joe’s downfall. Kravitz, and the other actresses playing wives, earned a significant amount of praise for their performance. All five models, with various amounts of acting experience, audiences were blown away by how well they stepped into their complex roles.
Big Little Lies (2017)
Based on the 2014 Liane Moriarty novel of the same name,Big Little Liesis David E. Kelley’sHBO seriesabout five mothers with a shocking secret. These women are Madeline McKenzie (Reese Witherspoon), a Type-A suburban mom who’s jealous of her ex-husband’s girlfriend (Kravitz); Celeste Wright (Nicole Kidman), Madeline’s best friend in an abusive relationship; Jane Chapman (Shailene Woodley), a newcomer with a dark history of her own; and Renata Klein (Laura Dern), a career-driven woman who initially butts heads with the others.
Kravitz’s character, Bonnie, is also a mother to biological daughter Skye (Chloe Coleman), and step-daughter Abigail (Kathryn Newton). The opposite of Madeline, she is a free-spirited yoga instructor whose Bohemian lifestyle attracts Abigail. This causes a tension between the two mothers that persists throughout season 1 when they become accomplices to a crime.Naturally cool and edgy, Kravitz is perfect as fan-favourite Bonnie and her main role exposes the best of her acting capabilities.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseis a computer-animated superhero movie directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman. Set in New York City, it follows teenager Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) who becomes the new Spider-Man after he’s bitten by a radioactive spider. In order to take down supervillain Kingpin (Liev Schreiber) Miles bands with Spider-People from other universes, voiced by actors Jake Johnson, Chris Pine, Nicolas Cage, and others.
Female voice actors forSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseinclude Hailee Steinfeld, Kathryn Hahn, Lily Tomlin, and, of course, Zoë Kravitz. Here the actress plays Mary Jane Parker, the wife of Spider-Man Peter Parker. Though Mary Jane is a prominent character in many Spider-Man movies, she’s only of minor importance inInto the Spider-Versewhere Peter Parker is dead and Miles has replaced him. Still, however minor, Kravitz’s role is a coveted one given the movie was a huge success, winning theAcademy Award for Best Animated Feature.
High Fidelity (2020)
Based on the Nick Hornby novel (1995), and John Cusack movie (2000) of the same name,High Fidelityis aromantic comedy seriescreated by Veronica West and Sarah Kucserka for Hulu. With Kravitz playing the gender-flipped lead, the show centers on Robyn (“Rob”) Brooks, a record-shop owner living in Brooklyn who revisits her past relationships through music. For ten episodes viewers explore Rob’s past and present and watch her try to get over Mac (Kingsley Ben-Adir), her supposed one true love.
Though it was canceled after one season,High Fidelitywas popular with critics and viewers alike. In particular, praise centered on the show’s fresh take on Hornby’s novel, and Kravitz’s performance as the leading lady. Like the movie,High Fidelityis also blessed with aneclectic soundtrack(Otis Brown, Fleetwood Mac, MUNYA, Grapetooth…) that satisfies the tastes of old and young music lovers.
MORE:Robert Pattinson And Zoe Kravitz Praise The Batman Cinematographer Greig Fraser
