“What are we supposed to do?”: Zoë Kravitz on Roman Polanski and the ‘art vs artist’ debate
It would have been incredibly easy for Zoë Kravitz to have coasted on her famous last name, but instead, the daughter of Lisa Bonet and Big Lenny has forged her own path.
Making her acting debut as a teenager, she has since gone on to become a huge name in Hollywood, routinely flipping between huge blockbusters and acclaimed indie flicks, before, in 2024, she released her debut directorial effort, Blink Twice, a psychological thriller that made for one of the most grippingly uncomfortable viewings of the year, which also turned out to be chillingly prescient.
Speaking of directors, Kravitz has worked with some of the best around in her capacity as an actor, playing one of Immortan Joe’s wives in George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road, with the name Toast the Knowing, which is simply excellent. Chuck in collaborations with Steven Soderbergh, Darren Aronofsky, and more, and she’s amassed quite the collection of famous friends, and hence, when it comes to her favourite filmmakers as a fan, she’s got a few interesting opinions.
Speaking to Esquire, Kravitz named Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino, among others, as her favourites, none of whom are particularly scandalous (maybe that last one), but then, she picked one name even she had to claim was “controversial”, which was Roman Polanski.
She admitted that Rosemary’s Baby and The Tenant are two films she loves, while also clarifying that her association with the disgraced auteur might make some people feel uncomfortable, saying, “It’s OK that somebody bad was involved in something good. What are we supposed to do, get rid of America?” You shouldn’t say things like that, Zoë, you’ll give people ideas.
If you somehow don’t know, Roman Polanski was one of the most celebrated filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s, making some truly exceptional movies, including Rosemary’s Baby, one of the best horror movies of the era, as well as one of the most influential films the genre has ever seen, garnering him fame for the ages.
However, this stellar reputation came crashing down in horrible fashion when Polanski was arrested in 1977 for drugging and raping an underage girl, to which he pled guilty and fled the United States to live in exile in Europe, where he remains to this day, but despite admitting to a truly heinous crime, the fugitive has continued to work at the very highest level.
His 2002 film The Pianist was nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars, and he actually won the coveted ‘Best Director’ statue. A number of prominent figures have even tried to defend his past crimes, including one of Kravitz’s other favourites, which is not what she is trying to do, outright calling him a “bad” person, without trying to deny the impact he has had on cinema as a whole.
The whole ‘art vs artist’ debate doesn’t really have a definitive answer; it’s about how comfortable you are personally with praising the work of an objectively questionable individual. Zoë Kravitz is happy to recognise the work of Roman Polanski for what it is, while also taking the time to call him out for being a monster.
