“Baths, wine, watching films, cooking, smoking weed and listening to music,” Zoë Kravitz prescribes to me as a surefire iso boredom remedy.
The actress is coming in hot, all the way from London, where she was filming The Batman when the city went into lockdown. But as they say, there’s no rest for the wicked – and there’s nobody more wicked than slinky villainess Catwoman who Kravitz will bring to life in the superhero flick.
During her iso downtime, Kravitz has been partaking in the aforementioned extracurricular activities, along with promoting her latest triumph: the television reimagining of noughties flick High Fidelity, based on the 1995 Nick Hornby novel.
Here, Kravitz tells me about her connection to High Fidelity, accepting her fuck ups and becoming a quarantine ‘mood’.
Why do you think now is the perfect time for a High Fidelity reboot?
“I’ve always loved this story, and I was excited to bring it to life for a new generation. I have often identified with male characters in movies, and I don’t think that’s necessarily because I’m an incredibly masculine person. I think it’s just because men are often given the more interesting roles, and if I feel that way, I’m sure other people do as well, and so I’m sure those people were just as hungry for a story like this, told from a female perspective.”
What aspects of the character do you relate to?
“We’ve all been messes at some point or another, we’ve all been selfish assholes. We’ve all had to suck it up and grow up a little. This is a story about growing pains, and although looking inward and self-reflecting can be uncomfortable, it’s something we all have to do, over and over again.”
I personally love the format of the series, the way you break the fourth wall and speak directly to us.
“Thank you! Yeah, it was really difficult for me at first, trying to find a way to make it feel natural. As an actor, you’re trained to ignore the camera. I had to learn how to make it my friend, someone I could confide in, during Rob’s most vulnerable moments. I think it’s a really great tool to get inside the mind of a character, especially someone like Rob who is constantly playing it cool.”
Why do you think High Fidelity is the ideal quarantine binge series?
“One of our goals for the show was to make it feel like the viewer was hanging out with their friends. So for people who are stuck at home, feeling lonely, the High Fidelity crew is here to keep you company!”
What’s the key message you hope viewers get from watching the show?
“It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you look like, you cannot escape inner work that needs to be done before you can move forward in your life. That, and music rules.”
That iconic scene with your character in the bathtub has been dubbed a ‘quarantine mood’. What have you been doing to pass the time during quarantine?
“I love that that moment has become a ‘mood.’ I’ve been doing a lot of that. Baths, wine, watching films, cooking, smoking weed and listening to music. It’s been refreshing, and although this has been a really hard time for everyone, I’m thankful for the reminders it has given me about what’s important.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5bkbfdVzbI
All episodes of High Fidelity are available to stream now on ABC iview or to watch on ABC Comedy at 9pm on Thursday nights.
