Zoe Saldana catapulted to fame in what some would consider a very short period of time thanks to two little projects you might have heard of, Avatar and Star Trek. Now she’s one of the most sought-after Latinas in Hollywood. Oddly enough, Colombiana (Aug. 26), follows a young woman who, after witnessing her parents’ murder as a child in Bogota, grows up to be a stone-cold assassin, will be Saldana’s first role playing a Latina, but this career turn couldn’t have come at a more inopportune time. The Dominican-Puerto Rican star recently spoke with Latina magazine about her emotional woes, newfound fame and being content to simply stay home.
Here are a few excerpts from the interview:
On dealing with her newfound fame: “The year after Avatar was just emotionally overwhelming. I was traveling all over the world, waking up in different time zones. Your body gets exhausted, and by the end of the year I just collapsed.”
On coming close to a total breakdown: “I was in Paris training for Colombiana, sitting in my hotel room, and I couldn’t stop crying. I couldn’t stay awake. I must have slept for an entire month. It took me the rest of the year, even as I was working and shooting Colombiana, to pick myself up. Thank God my family was there.”
On the post-Avatar effect: “I just want the best filmmakers in the world to tell me, ‘You’re good, kid, you’re legit.’ The recognition will never get old, and I’ll never get accustomed to it. I don’t ever want to, because that will mean I’m taking it for granted. That’s why I work, not for the luxuries or the awards.”
On the simple joys of life: “I just stay at home and do absolutely nothing. When I was younger, that would have made me feel like such a failure. Now that I’m older, I know what it means to shut down. I don’t shower if I don’t want to. I don’t answer e-mails. It’s a healthy way of being selfish. You know you’re old when gardening, [watching] the Food Network and [when] voice notes from your nieces and nephews blow your mind.”
The September issue of Latina will be available on newsstands Aug. 16. Click here for the complete story.