Inventing Anna’s Laverne Cox on Fame: ‘I Had to Learn Very Early On to Spot Potential Predators’

What did you want to know, specifically?

I always want to know what makes someone tick, why people do what they do. She’s so inspiring. She’s trained everyone from Denzel Washington to Dakota Johnson. She’s one of the co-founders of Equinox. But I wanted to know who she was. She’s a native New Yorker, but what was her family life like? She has a son. She’s a grandmother now. I wanted to know the obstacles and the hardships, and all the things that aren’t out there. She was so generous. I could cry thinking about how much she shared with me. It’s between her and me, but it was a wonderful gift. She’s an incredible human being.

What do you appreciate about playing this role?

There’s a lot of people in history who are unsung for so many different reasons, and a lot of them happen to be Black women. Kacy Duke was on the forefront of the fitness business in the ’80s. She was a brand ambassador for Nike. She’s a trailblazer in the health and wellness industry, and a lot of people don’t know about her, outside of her clients. I ran into Zoe Kravitz at a Golden Globes party; while we were talking, I said, “Oh, I’m playing this woman named Kacy Duke,” and she said, “I know her.” I was like, “Oh, that’s right. She trained your dad (Lenny Kravitz),” and she trained with her as well. A lot of people in the business know her, but the public doesn’t know who she is. I think they should. 

How do you relate to someone like Kacy?

I love mantras, and Kacy’s very spiritual. She has a mantra for everything, like, It’s an evolution, not a revolution. Or, Don’t be so obsessed with the Emerald City that you don’t enjoy the yellow brick road. My favorite of hers is, You have to love the body you have to get the body you want. Her book is called Show It Love, and her whole philosophy is that you have to celebrate the body you have to get the body you want, which I love. It’s about mindset, motivation, and movement. She says, “The past is our teacher, the present is our creation, and the future is our inspiration.” I love all the mantras, but I also think that Kacy at her core wants to be of service to the world and help people.