Zoe Saldana‘s interview in the Independent is so chock-full of soundbites, it’s tough to pick a favorite. Whether she talks about roles for women in Hollywood or for women in life, her two fave words are “kick” and “ass”:
On doing action films:
“I love working with the boys, and I probably do that more than most actresses. I got to do it on Star Trek, Pirates of the Caribbean and now [The Losers]. It just makes me feel sexy, I guess. And these kinds of films — sci-fi and action — with all-male crews are just the kind of films I want to make. I love girls, don’t get me wrong. I’d do a Jane Austen film any day. But, as a woman, to get to play rough characters that are usually part of more male-driven stories, gives me a lot of freedom and versatility in terms of my career.”
On being female in a cast full of men:
“When you’re the only girl in a cast, I almost feel like you have twice as much work to do because you don’t want to be singled out. You’re already the only girl, so if you’re the one that says, ‘I can’t do this’ or whatever, it’s gonna be like ‘Oh, my gosh, she’s wimping out because she’s a girl’, so I toughed it out. I really wanted to impress the guys. I like being around men. I feel like I can hold my own and Jeffrey [Dean Morgan] was absolutely amazing in the fight scenes. There was a couple of moments there where I’d immediately look at him and go, ‘Oh my God, did I really hit you hard in your head?!'”
On roles for women:
“Right now, I feel like Hollywood has made a living out of portraying women to be such canker sores; like we just have to be rescued all the time because we’re so incompetent when in reality sometimes art needs to reflect what’s going on in real life, and in today’s society – especially in American society – women are doing so much. I am from Queens – I’m not from that era where I was baking cookies. I grew up in Queens in the 1980s where women were the care-takers and they were the soldiers and I’m in that phase right now and, not until I burn that, will I be the damsel in distress. But, right now, I like holding the gun and I like participating in saving the day because I think it’s really sexy.”
On a scene in The Losers in which she “takes out” Jeffrey Dean Morgan while wearing flats:
“Honestly, I could have done it in black Gucci boots, too. But they wanted no heels, so I just thought, OK, heels or no heels, a woman can still kick a man’s ass if she wants.”
On the Star Trek sequel:
“I heard through the grapevine that we might be starting back into the Enterprise next year. I think it will be really great. As for Uhura and Spock? Everyone’s putting in their two cents. I don’t care as long as I get to kick some ass.”
Zoe Saldana: Hollywood’s New Action Queen Goes Into Orbit [Independent]
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