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Lenny Kravitz has played a fashion designer in The Hunger Games, a nurse in Precious and a White House servant in The Butler.
Now he gets to play himself in the second season of hit hip-hop dramaEmpire.
“I get a call from (producer) Lee Daniels and he says he wanted me to be on the show and he actually wanted to play myself as opposed to a character which I’ve never really done,” the musician and actor told the Star.
“The show is just huge all over the world. I think it’s amazing and shocking. I think even Lee was surprised at how big it became. He worked in film for years, but the reach of television is incredible.
The show is about a music mogul (Terrence Howard) who tries to manage his business empire while his family members jockey for power. Chris Rock and Alicia Keys are also expected to appear in the second season.
“I haven’t seen a script yet, but I guess if I’m playing myself I’m just going to be as natural as possible and react as I would normally react,” Kravitz said.
Despite his outsized rock star persona, Kravitz is no stranger to a TV studio.
He grew up in one, hanging out after school and doing his homework on the set of Norman Lear’s The Jeffersons for CBS.
His mom, Roxie Roker, played Helen Willis, a black woman married to a white man in the sitcom about race and class.
“I was raised by all of those people on the set,” says Kravitz. “It was great. I would wander off into other studios on set and became friends with the kids on The Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, Diff’rent Strokes. I got so close to all those people.”
Kravitz ended up marrying The Cosby Show actress Lisa Bonet, divorcing in 1993. Their daughter Zoe is a model, musician and actress, known for her role in the Divergent movie franchise.
“We definitely feed off each other for inspiration,” says Kravitz. “We are part of each other, we have no choice. I think I inspire her and she inspires me. I love her work.”