Lenny Kravitz Adds Acting to Music

Singer-guitarist Lenny Kravitz had a great music career going, mixing up a blend of pop, funk, techno, psychedelia, and even a bit of Philadelphia soul, earning multiple Grammys and both gold- and platinum status for his albums. Then he took a stab at acting, gaining accolades for his role as Nurse John – the guy who was dissing McDonald’s food – in the film “Precious.”

When writer-director Gary Ross was casting for his new film – the young adult thriller “The Hunger Games” – he immediately recalled those scenes  in "Precious," and thought the stylish Kravitz would make a great Cinna, the stylist who’s supposed make teenagers look good for TV audiences before they’re sent off to literally fight for their lives.

I didn’t even recognize Kravitz in the film, but landed an interview with him the morning after I saw it. He was, of course, stylishly dressed, and he wore large dark sunglasses, had short-cropped hair, a few facial piercings, and was friendly and soft-spoken.

“I definitely wasn’t disappointed getting that phone call from Gary saying would you like to be in ‘The Hunger Games,’” said Kravitz in a Beverly Hills hotel room. “When I was a kid my mom was in theater in New York, so I grew up doing theater and television. And I’m glad acting came back to me.”

That phone call actually came out of the blue.

“I was in my recording studio in the Bahamas, working on my album,” he recalled. “I’m in the booth and the engineer says there’s a Gary Ross on the telephone. Now, my guitar player’s name is Craig Ross ... I’d met Gary at dinner a couple of years before that, but I didn’t put it together. And on the phone he said, ‘Hey, remember me?’ Then I remembered that dinner. He said, ‘I saw you in “Precious,” and I thought you were great, and I’m making this movie called “The Hunger Games.” And I’d like you to play Cinna. You don’t have to come in. If you want it, it’s yours.' ”

But Kravitz didn’t know what “The Hunger Games” was. He managed to download the book, read it in one night, then called Ross the next day and said he’d do it. He now thinks that the character he and Ross put in the film might be a little more subdued than some fans might have expected.

"People were thinking he would be more outrageous,” he said. “Gary and I decided to play him more like a Tom Ford or an Yves St. Laurent than say a John Galliano. It was nice just wearing waistcoats and slacks and shirts – very simple."

Kravitz became quite popular among cast and crew because he threw a lot of after-hours parties in his hotel room.

“We worked all day and the evenings would be about letting off steam,” he said. “I was rehearsing for my world tour at the same time, and was working two shifts, which was stupid, and I won’t do that again. It was ridiculous to be filming all day and then rehearsing all night. It was wrong, but I did it. I had to. I had no choice.”

And now, even before the film has opened, he’s already getting plenty of feedback from fans.

“People are coming to my concerts now with Cinna signs and addressing me as Cinna after the show,” he said. “It’s pretty weird, becoming this fictional character.”

“The Hunger Games” opens on March 23.