When it comes to portraying different types of female characters on screen, Zoe Saldaña said she focuses on weakness rather than strength.
The actress, who stars in season 2 of Lioness (earlier Special Operations: Lioness), which premiered on October 27 on Paramount+, Yahoo Entertainment told Yahoo Entertainment that if she plays a military agent in the Taylor Sheridan-created drama, a former assassin in Guardians of the Galaxy or even a popular high school student from the 2002 Britney Spears car Crossroadsher focus is on what makes her character ‘vulnerable’.
“I don’t think I play strong women,” Saldaña told Yahoo Entertainment. “I believe I’m playing women, and women from different walks of life, with different experiences, different histories, different weaknesses.”
In LionessSaldaña stars as CIA station chief Joe McNamara, alongside an all-star cast that includes Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. Her character, who is also married with two young daughters, juggles her dangerous work life with marriage and parenthood.
Joe is generally discouraged from showing that weakness at work, while at home her vulnerabilities come into play as a woman trying to protect her family from the realities of her career.
“I always approach a character by starting with her weaknesses. What makes her vulnerable? What is she trying to contain and never reveal? Saldaña said. “And I appreciate the fact that some of the characters I’ve played have an outstanding level of skill.”
Saldaña has come a long way since he played Kit Crossroadsa film she told Variety she would be open to rebooting under certain circumstances, namely a buy-in from Spears.
Saldaña looks back on her character, as well as other early roles, fondly more than twenty years later, calling them “great opportunities” that she would “sink my teeth into and appreciate” and “just try to do my best.”
Since then, she has recorded several top-grossing films such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Avatar And Star Trek under her weapon-heavy belt. Saldaña said she was never prepared for “the exposure these projects… give me.”
Unlike some of those films, with robust ensemble casts, Lioness has given Saldaña the opportunity to lead – both as a character and as an actress.
“When I get that responsibility, I say, ‘Oh hey, do you want to be No. 1 on the call sheet?’ Do you want to be kind of the main voice guiding this story?’ There is a lot of pressure I put on myself,” she said.
“But that encourages me to work harder and I like to work hard,” she added. “I’m not afraid of childbirth.”
Lioness Season 2 premieres October 27 on Paramount+.
