Zoe Saldana talks roles on Earth, being an underdog

Zoe Saldana is leaving her mark in the world of science-fiction, and even though that mark might be blue and green, she loves what she’s doing.

If there was to be one female science-fiction queen right now, it would be Zoe Saldana. No other woman in Hollywood right now can claim so much success in three beloved franchises the way Saldana can, and those franchises show no signs of stopping.

It’s an exciting time to be a woman in the Hollywood science-fiction community. From Star Wars to June’s Wonder Woman, to the upcoming Captain Marvel film due in 2019, as well as the successful debut of Harley Quinn in 2016’s Suicide Squad, women are taking charge of the genre in new and exciting ways.

For Saldana, she has achieved recognition as Avatar’s Neytiri, as Lieutenant Uhura in the Star Trek reboot, and as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy. Though she enjoys her roles, Saldana admits in an interview with the Independent that it’s hard to transition to roles that are a bit closer to home, as in home on Planet Earth:

"There are so many boxes that exist, and you can grow a reputation for doing films in the same genre. It’s hard when you go and fight for a role, because they’re like ‘I dunno man, you mean, it’s like the blue girl from Avatar? I dunno, I wanna go down a different route.’ I feel like a little bit of an underdog because I live in space, nobody wants me here on Earth."

One thing that Saldana does appreciate when it comes to her role as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy and the sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, is that she was able to come into her own as Gamora because the Guardians were not as well known as the Avengers or other heroes in the Marvel universe:

"When we started these movies, a lot of us felt like underdogs in our own right. Which played quite nicely because the Guardians are the underdogs of the Marvel universe. I remember when we went to San Diego Comic Con the first time. Everyone was like ‘Why the Guardians, out of all the heroes you can do?’ It just means you have a clean slate and you can do whatever you want. That’s what James Gunn did for us."

More from Bam Smack Pow

Saldana is paving the way for women in science fiction, demonstrating that women are changing the face of science fiction and superhero movies.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens in theaters on May 5.

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