For more than two decades, Zoe Saldaña has been one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbuster stars. From ‘Avatar’ to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, she has been part of some of the most beloved franchises of all time.
But long before she became the highest-grossing actor of all time, the total being $15.47 billion at the box-office by 2026, Saldaña nearly walked away from acting altogether. It took one legendary filmmaker to change her perception of the industry and remind her why she wanted to make movies in the first place.
Zoe Saldaña Wanted To Leave Hollywood After A Difficult Experience On ‘Pirates of The Caribbean’
Today, Zoe Saldaña is a household name thanks to her roles in major franchises. Though that wasn’t always the case. Saldaña didn’t like working on 2003’s ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.’ The hit movie, in fact, left her questioning whether she even belonged in showbiz.
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Saldaña revealed how the shoot broke her. Speaking during a Screen Talk at the BFI London Film Festival, she reflected on her time working on the movie: “The crew and the cast, they’re 99% of the time super marvellous. But if the studio and the producers and the director, they’re not leading with kindness and awareness and consideration, then that big of a production can become a really bad experience, and you may tip overboard. And I kind of did.”
The overwhelming scale of the production, plus the expectations that came with an enormous movie left her feeling isolated in her role. She also told Entertainment Weekly, “I walked away not really having a good experience from it overall. I felt like I was lost in the trenches of it a great deal, and I just didn’t feel like that was OK.”
Steven Spielberg Reminded Zoe Saldaña About The Joy Of Making Movies
Saldaña’s perception changed just months later when she joined Steven Spielberg’s 2004 comedy-drama ‘The Terminal’, starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Working with Spielberg was the complete opposite of what she had experienced before. As Saldaña puts it, “I worked with Steven Spielberg eight months later, and he restored my faith that big can also be great.”
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Her role in the movie was relatively small, but it ultimately paved the way for her to not give up on Hollywood. Saldaña remembered feeling “so good and so safe.” Rather than allowing the scale of the production to overwhelm its cast, Spielberg focused on creating a welcoming environment for everyone.
She recalled that Spielberg regularly played music over loudspeaker between takes throughout the enormous airport set so that everyone remained “synchronised and on the same page.”
Most importantly, Spielberg proved that great filmmaking doesn’t need to be defined by the size of its budget. It is the passion and care behind making it that really matters the most.
Saldaña remembered one piece of advice Steven Spielberg shared that stayed with her ever since: “In order for you to know where you are, you have to know where you came from.”
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