My first notice of Zoe Kazan came toward the end of 2009, when the rising actress could be seen in flurry of three end-of-the-year movies playing on Austin screens: Revolutionary Road, It’s Complicated, and Me and Orson Welles. All were supporting roles, and none were wholly indicative of the voice that would emerge as the screenwriter of Ruby Sparks.
As well as scripting Ruby Sparks – the story of a blocked writer who magically conjures his dream woman into being with his words – Kazan co-stars in the movie as the titular character along with her real-life romantic partner Paul Dano. The film opened in Austin on Friday and you can read our review here.
The scion of Hollywood royalty, Kazan is the daughter of screenwriters Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord, and the granddaughter of the acclaimed filmmaker Elia Kazan. If she chose, Zoe Kazan could have clearly coasted to success on her connections alone, but this emerging talent has taken a more challenging path to proving her professional worth. The roles she has taken so far, though small, have demonstrated her daring and range of ability. Prior to her breakout with Ruby Sparks, her skills were nowhere in greater evidence than in The Exploding Girl, in which she again stars as the title character – a 20-year-old with epilepsy feeling her way through a new romance. In her glowing review of the film, Kimberley Jones states: “Kazan appears in every scene of The Exploding Girl’s perfectly paced 80 minutes, and you’d miss her if she ducked out for even a moment. A less interesting actress would wilt under such scrutiny.”
We look forward to “scrutinizing” a long and productive career from Zoe Kazan. We have to say this relative newcomer grabbed us at “hello.”
This article appears in August 3 • 2012.
