IGN interviews Zoe Kravitz

IGN: Could you tell us a little about who you play?

Zoe Kravitz: I play Angel Salvador, and I'm a go-go dancer who can fly. I have a pair of tattooed wings on my back, which turn into insect wings, and I projectile vomit acid. 

IGN: Does that happen often in the movie?

Kravitz: Yeah, I get to do it a few times. Three times, I think. It's a power, I can do it at will.

IGN: Is it CGI?

Kravitz: The tattoos are real, they put them on with make-up, and then they make the wings with CGI after.

IGN: How familiar were you with X-Men before you got the role?

Kravitz: I'd seen one of the films but I hadn't really read the comics. I knew of X-Men and I knew what it was, but I wasn't an expert.

IGN: What kind of journey does your character go on?

Kravitz: She starts out on the good side with Professor X and Magneto - they recruit her to be an X-Man, and then she switches to Sebastian Shaw's side to be in Hellfire. I think it's just a different approach to fighting for human equality. Someone compared the two different sides. In this film it's Hellfire and the X-Men, but later it's Xavier and Magneto and someone compared it to Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. They're really fighting for the same thing, but it's different approaches for how to get there. I think she just believes that the aggressive side is the right side. 

IGN: Do you enjoy playing the transformation of going from one to the other?

Kravitz: Yeah, I don't think of it as going to the bad side, really. I know it's an X-Men film, so that's the side that is thought of as the bad side, but I really think they're both trying for the same thing in different ways.

IGN: What has it been like making a movie of this scale?

Kravitz: It's been great. I've never spent so much time in London, and I really love it. Pinewood's great and the crew is fantastic. It's nice to be away. It's different when you're out of your environment and you don't go home every day. It's nerve-wracking to be on a production this big, in a way. Sometimes you'll have these moments of realisation, where you're doing a crazy stunt or, you know, Kevin Bacon's walking by. But the cool thing is that everyone's really nice. You could be a bit freaked out but everyone's so wonderful and different, so now it's like home away from home.

IGN: Do you get action scenes?

Kravitz: Yeah, at the end there's a big fight scene and I get to soar through the air and projectile vomit and attack the X-Men. They had us work out a lot to strengthen the core. There's a lot of stress on that area. I'm trying to get my stomach area really strong so I can work with the wires. And they had us practice quite a bit on the wires and the harness. You just have to get used to it.

IGN: Is it fun?

Kravitz: It's so fun. The only thing is that it kind of hurts after a while because it's straining you, pretty much. But it's really fun, and you're zooming around the room. It's the closest I'll ever get to flying, so it's pretty cool. 


IGN: Have you been enjoying the period setting?

Kravitz: It's really cool. The '60s is one of my favourite eras in general. I love '60s music and I've always wanted to do a period film. It's really cool, the combination of the action and the CGI stuff. I have the least lines out of all those guys but probably the best costumes! All my costumes are backless because of the wings and they made me this really cool metal dress. I have a pretty cool leather cat suit too. That's kind of my signature look.

IGN: How's it been to work with Kevin Bacon?

Kravitz: I have a bunch of scenes with him. He's great. He is wonderful. He's freakishly wonderful - it's crazy. He's just chill and lovely and really normal. We all freak out when he's around - even in front of him. 'Kevin Bacon's here? What's Kevin Bacon doing here?'

IGN: What about Matthew Vaughn?

Kravitz: He's amazing and a really cool guy - I really like him. He gives us room to do what we want and we always have a conversation about the scenes beforehand. It's definitely a collaborative effort, which makes all the difference.

IGN: Was that a surprise?

Kravitz: Yeah, a little bit. A lot of it is very technical, so some of it is pretty set, but when it comes to the acting part of it, he's very open, because he really does want the best performances.


http://ie.movies.ign.com/articles/116/1169603p1.html