Zoe Saldaña Once Found It Scary When She Started Being Compared to Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie has inspired many during her reign in the film industry, including fellow actor Zoe Saldana. But when Saldana started being compared to the Tomb Raider star, it was an honor she wasn’t sure she was ready for.
Why Zoe Saldana loved actors like Angelina Jolie
Saldana has been very careful in the roles she’s picked in her career. From Guardians of the Galaxy to Avatar, Saldana has become known for her portrayal of female action heroes and anti-heroes.
Saldana is often so dedicated to her work that she chooses to do most if not all of her own stunts. It’s a habit that once captivated her so much that she looked forward to doing her own action sequences.
“I have the itch lately. I don’t know if it is after Avatar or Star Trek or because I’ve just finished an action film called The Losers, in which I did almost all my own stunts. I think it’s so empowering and sexy,” she once said in an interview with Esquire (via Trek Movie).
Saldana went on to reference two other actors known for their stunts as stars she looked up to.
“I love actresses like Angelina and Jessica [Biel]. They’re very agile, they incorporate their bodies with their characters and they pick women who are very strong. I really dig that,” Saldana said.
Zoe Saldana once found Angelina Jolie comparisons scary
Like Saldana, Jolie was also known for starring in many female-driven action films. Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Wanted, and Salt were some of the films where Jolie played the action hero.
With Saldana following a similar career path, fans began drawing comparisons to her and the megastar. Though flattered, the compliment was also a lot for Saldana to live up to.
“If I think about it in that fashion then yes [It’s scary,] I wouldn’t want to think about it in that way,” she once told Fox411’s Pop Tarts Column (via Contact Music). “But I have been inspired by amazing actresses that have taken amazing risks and opened amazing doors, and I am a product of that and I am honored to be included in a group of women that have defied their own gravity. Besides playing amazing character roles they also have an amazing agility to do action.”
What made Zoe Saldana admire and respect Angelina Jolie even more
In 2013, Jolie revealed that she discovered she had a chance of developing breast or ovarian cancer due to her genes. This led the actor to making the difficult decision of getting a double mastectomy to avoid getting cancer. When Saldana learned of Jolie’s decision, it made Jolie even more of a role model to look up to.
“I admire and respect her even more for being so brave and sharing something so intimate and so painful with the world with the objective of encouraging women to heal. That this is not something that can beat you, you can survive this like you can survive so many other things in life. So, that is very beautiful,” Saldana once said in an interview with E News.
