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Zoë Kravitz talks about massive anxiety and drinking over directing ‘Pussy Island’

She's very hard on herself.

Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Hulu

Zoë Kravitz has a Hollywood career to envy. The 33-year-old daughter of rock icon Lenny Kravitz has appeared in The Batman, starred in Kimi, and appeared in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, to name a few. However, she said her latest project, directing the movie Pussy Island, has been her most difficult role yet.

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While most people assume she’s cool and cavalier about everything, Zoë Kravitz told GQ that directing the movie wracked her with anxiety.

There were issues over having to manage suck a large crew; working in a foreign country where she didn’t even know the language; shooting near what people said was a haunted mansion, and the overwhelming feeling of having to make so many decisions every day.

Now that she’s editing the movie she said she has a whole new set of worries, the main one being whether or not audiences will take to the film. “I think it’s really fun for people to hate actresses when they do stuff that’s not acting,” she said.

The truth is Zoë Kravitz cares deeply about the work, and it affects her day-to-day life in a big way. She said when she’s in the director’s chair she becomes a “crazy person.” And that there was no escaping that feeling even though she would try and drown it out with whiskey.

“I still am [crazy]. It was always frantic. A glass of whiskey at the end of the night or something would calm me down a little bit. But there was no getting out of it.”

Her father claimed that this energy is ingrained in her – someone who doesn’t compromise and stays the course no matter what. “She so knows who she is and who she isn’t, and is not willing to sacrifice who she is. If something is not her or she’s not feeling it, she’s not going to put on a face and act to make others comfortable or accepting.”

While Zoë Kravitz may be prone to anxiety and stress, she does have a penchant for bringing people together, according to Pussy Island star Alia Shawkat.

“She’s the best curator of vibe I think there is. She’s very calm, and she’s a really good pack leader. It was a sight to see, to watch her in her power, with full agency, lead us all into a place where we felt very safe. We felt very creative. We felt all very connected to each other.”

Sounds like even though Zoë Kravitz is incredibly hard on herself she’s still doing a great job getting things done. Pussy Island is scheduled for release sometime next year.