Zoe Saldaña Says She and Husband Have 'Full-Blown Passionate' Debates Working Together: 'We're Not Robots'

"We're still a marriage in how we make art, but also we're not gonna apologize for it," said the actress, who is in her husband's film 'The Absence of Eden'

Zoe Saldaña and Marco Perego's marriage isn't without disagreements.

Speaking during a Kering’s Women in Motion event at the Cannes Film Festival over the weekend, the actress, 45, opened up about working with her husband on his recently released directorial debut The Absence of Eden.

"Being directed by him is incredible because he knows exactly what he wants," said Saldaña. "Yes, we bicker, but we'll go away from set to talk, because Marco can be questioned by the crew or what to do with his light [etc.] ... The moment I go, 'Do I wear my jacket on in the scene or do I take it off?' he's like, [annoyed look]. I'm like, 'Dude, 'I'm asking you a question as an actor.' "

"Then he'll be like, 'Z, I want you to sit there,' [and I'm like] 'Why?' " she continued. "So we're still a marriage in how we make art, but also we're not gonna apologize for it. We're not robots."

"So if you happen to witness Marco and I in a full-blown passionate discussion about why he believes [a certain] movie was worthy of an Oscar and I don't, or vice versa ... so be it," the actress said. "But we're fine."

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Related: Hollywood Couples Open Up About Why They Love (or Hate) Working Together

Saldaña also praised her "incredible" husband as a filmmaker, saying, "Marco is so prepared — everything from writing a story to putting it together, raising the money, Marco wears all the hats and he gives 110% to every hat."

She said during the chat that her "job, moving forward for his next project, is to make sure that Marco leaves a little bit more of his energy so that when he finally gets to the playground that he's been designing, which is to be on set, he has the energy, he has the presence and just the joy, so that he won't be so [bogged] down with the work."

"He's exceptional at what he does, and I truly respect him and I look up to him," the Guardians of the Galaxy star added.

As for their relationship, both on set and off, "We always talk about Frances McDormand and her husband," director Joel Coen, Saldaña said. "And if they've made it work — and they challenge each other and they keep learning, and they keep stimulating each other in so many different ways — that's what we want."

Related: Zoë Saldana and Marco Perego's Relationship Timeline

Saldaña and Perego first met on a flight in 2013, and dated for a few months before they tied the knot in a private wedding ceremony, which they confirmed to PEOPLE in September 2013.

Now the couple are parents to three children: twin boys Cy and Bowie, 9, and youngest son Zen 7.

Perego's thriller The Absence of Eden, starring Saldaña, premiered at Italy's Taormina Film Festival in June 2023. The movie, which follows an ICE agent and an undocumented woman (Saldaña) trying to save the life of an innocent girl, marked Perego's first feature film.

The two attended a screening of the film this past December in Saudi Arabia, where they stepped out at the Red Sea International Film Festival.

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