Zoe Saldana

0:13It is safe. It is an illusion putting light out to protect you. Enjoy these final moments of peace. But I have returned to have... Well, thanks so much for doing this, Zoe. Thank you. So I heard you wanted O'Hara to become more of a kick-ass character, I think, was the quote. Yes. So did you get to play with her more in that realm for this film? Yes. Without saying too much around you? Not too much. I will say that the enterprise, the crew, they're compromised to such an extent that a lot of the crew members are forced to have to leave the enterprise and finish their missions elsewhere.

0:58And O'Hara's probably going to be one of those characters. Which I think, I won't be giving anything away because in the first nine minutes that you saw, you see her in a ship suiting Spock up. So she's definitely having to multitask a lot as well. You get to some real emotion in that scene too. Yes. That must be fun. Yes. So much fun. I know that wasn't really a question. I'm sorry. No, no, it is fun. Sometimes it's challenging because you feel so much, you know, once you get into character you, you feel a lot for what these characters are going through. So sometimes that can be more exhausting than doing a physical scene. Do you get to play more with this character now that you're a little more comfortable playing her? Yes. I mean, the first one, maybe you took more from Nichelle or something like that. Well, I will always take from Nichelle because she was the pioneer creator of Ahura, but

1:47I will say that I was much more comfortable in this film because when we were doing the first one, there was this fear that we were walking into something that had already been done and it was done so well. So we were just like, oh, God, I just want to do a good job and I want to do her justice. And then once it was accepted and it was really liked and welcomed and blessed by Nichelle Nichols coming back to do into darkness was not that I was all chillax and was like, yo, it's going to be amazing. But I was definitely, my guard was not so up. What's your process like when you get a script, when it comes to the mail? Are you someone who highlights your lines? Like, how do you go through a script? It all depends. I, you know, I work with an acting coach most of the time.

2:34I ask a lot of questions to my director. I like rehearsing and getting to know the cast in this instance. We all know each other. We've been friends for, you know, since the first time we met doing the first movie. So we were just doing a lot of rehearsals and joking around. But so my process is pretty much that I do break down my character in terms of her trajectory, in terms of where she starts, where she is when we first start the movie, what her conflicts are and how she's going to end. And that way you sort of have a place to go. I've been told that JJ sets work very quickly. Are you a fan of that? Does that help your process? Yes. I'm also a very anxious and physical person.

3:22I don't talk as fast as JJ does. And I don't use big words as much as JJ does. But I do like the fast pace of working because it keeps me on my toes a lot. Absolutely. Five questions. Five quick questions. You got some time though. One word answers. One word answers. One word answers. Okay, let's go. Scriptor improv. Improv. Leonard McCartney. Leonard. Leonard. Your biggest influence as an actor. My biggest influence as an actor. Mio, Meryl Streep. Rule your most proud of. But I've done? Yeah. Naturi. And in one word, Star Trek. Humanitarian. Oh, I like it. That's a good one.

4:07No, it's not. Oh, it's okay. I like it. Thank you so much. Thank you. Really appreciate it. So. Shall we begin?