Zoe Saldana Says She Couldn't Audition for Some Lead Movie Roles Because of Her Race
[UNKNOWN] you see, one of my number one girl crushes. I am? Like legit. Straight up. [LAUGH] You're like this. I'm blushing. [MUSIC] I want to play a quick game with you. I love games. Love a game. Now, if you could use a superpower to feed the following person, what would it be and why? Chris Pratt. I would have the power of being super duper funnier than him Okay, you can do this. I can out humor him. Yeah, I love this. Okay. What about Angelina Jolie? I would have the power to make her fall in love with me. Yes, I love that. Girl crush moments, right there. Yeah. [LAUGH] Donald Trump. I don't want to say anything terrible. [LAUGH] I know, because I don't think that's constructive. No. I I think I would just give him a bigger heart. I love that. Now, what I loved about this film is it's got really strong female identity to it, which is quite rare I feel like for a super hero movie. What do you think it means to be a feminist in Hollywood today? To be outspoken. Yeah. To speak with conviction, to speak with love, but also to speak with truth about what your experiences are. Not in a way batter men's reputation, but to encourage, encourage establishments that are mainly male oriented. Or benefit males. This sort of step back and acknowledge the presence of the females, have been having and the recognition and compensation. That we need to have already moving forward. What do you think is the thing you're having to combat against the most in Hollywood right now? There's a great deal of insecurities that women have about aging, about working with other women, working with younger women, working with older women, that I think if we work a little more on ourselves We'll be able to just work better with each other, Yeah. Cuz I think that women we're becoming a much stronger sisterhood in the workforce because we're realizing that men have been nothing but an inspiration for us and they should be because the brotherhood that men have and the kind of commodity that they have and the way that they collaborate and they support each other should only be Seen as something we can duplicate ourselves more. Get more power basically. Yeah. Bring it which we love. Yeah I think so. That's what this movie brings as well. Also in this you are kinda like the mom of the grape and obviously you are a mom in real life. What is this super power you feel that all moms should have? It's all about checking that list. It's like, did they eat, did the sleep, did they poop? It's almost like Play with your kids. Yeah. You know, and if they spill that green juice on your white dress, sometimes its good to just laugh with them and sort of brush things off cuz you don't want your kids to sort of go, here comes mom. [LAUGH] I don't want my kids to do that, but I do acknowledge that when I'm away. They tend to laugh louder with my husband and it makes me a little jealous. That's tough! I'm gonna relax a little and I'm gonna play more with my kids, and I'm gonna let him be the bad cop. My god you have to do that. I think so! When you're with him just be like hi hun she's home! Exactly! Ever bring your kids on set? I do. Do they love it? They do they do they love it! And they can sit and stay. And then they get a treat. [LAUGH] And then I'll be able to bring them. I love that control. Are they ever like, Mum, why are you green? [LAUGH] Why, you look spotty colored. Completely, and they think I'm related to the Hulk, cuz they love the Hulk. I love that. [LAUGH] I know, and so I'm sorta like using it for so many things. Of course your from InStyle, look at you. [LAUGH]
While Zoe Saldana may be one of the most recognizable actresses in the industry, with starring roles in Avengers, Star Trek, and Avatar, it wasn't always an easy road to positioning herself to her current level of fame.
In a new interview with Porter, the star explains how the color of her skin seemed to be a hindrance early on in her career. "Every time I read a script, even if it was a period piece, I read it thinking that I was going to go after the lead role,” she said. “It wasn’t until I would come across the introduction of a supporting ethnic role that I realized, ‘Oh.’ I wasn’t even allowed to try to get that main role, because ‘they want to go traditional on the part.’ I would hang up on that conversation from my agents, thinking, ‘What about me is non-traditional’? It was a very hard pill to swallow."
Saldana, who was born in New Jersey, is a mix of races (her mother is Puerto Rican, while her father hails from the Dominican), but she is undisputedly an American—a point she drives home in her candid talk with the publication.
“In my country, where I pledged allegiance every day since I was five, to be told when I’m out there trying to pursue my American dream that I was not a traditional American was very hurtful,” she added.
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“I will never accept that I am not a traditional anything. I come from where I come from, I can’t change that, and you come from where you come from. But if you tell me that where you come from is the only right place, and therefore I don’t fit that traditional mold, let’s just establish, very clearly, that you are the one who’s wrong. Because everything about me and where I come from is just as right.”
The mom of three is actively attempting to change this perception, and has launched her own media company with her husband, Marco Perego, called BESE. "I want the American narrative to continue, I just want the characters to vary,” she explains.
