Zoe Saldana: Talking Love Scenes and "Losers"
We're with sizzlin' hot actress Zoe Saldana in Beverly Hills talking action, stunts, sangria with the guys and good times in Puerto Rico during the shoot for her new action/comedy/revenge film The Losers! While we're here, we'll also get the lowdown on her role in the comedy Death at a Funeral in which she was face to uh... face with cute but naked James Marsden! This is one busy girl! 
A few years ago, we were excited about the beautiful actress because she was starring opposite heartthrob Orlando Bloom in the dark love story Haven. Oddly, it wasn't her role as Lt. Uhura in Star Trek or as the blue beauty Neytiri in Avatar but as a star-crossed love interest in Haven that attracted director Sylvain White of Stomp the Yard, to cast her as butt kick chick Aisha in his new action revenge flick The Losers based upon the graphic novels.
Zoe is looking like she's taking no prisoners today in black skinny jeans, very high pumps and a form-fitting black leather jacket over a grey tank top. She's accessorizing with a long silver chain necklace and some very dark red nails. First let's get the lowdown on The Losers...
TeenHollywood: You've played a lot of very strong female characters recently. Do you ever just want to play....
Zoe Saldana: A damsel in distress? [she's laughing] Of course. You want to play great characters but right now I feel that Hollywood has made a living out of portraying women to be, God, such canker sores. We just have to be rescued all the time because we're so incompetent when, in reality, sometimes art needs to reflect what's going on in real life and in today's society, especially an American society, women are doing so much. 
I am from Queens and I'm not from that era where I was baking cookies. I do, do it. I think it's great, whatever. But, I grew up in Queens in the '80's where women were the caretakers and they were the soldiers and I'm in that phase right now. Until I burn that, then I'll be the damsel in distress but, right now, I like holding the gun. I like participating in the saving of the day. I think it's really sexy. It's kind of like my mom.
But, I have decided to explore other kinds of roles. It's not like I'm only aiming to be like Lara Croft but I like it and that requires a certain kind of training and I do like to stay on my toes, especially lately. I don't know. I do like to take care of my body.
TeenHollywood: What training did you have to do to earn the title "bad a** chick" in this film and do you think she will get her revenge (on Clay, played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) eventually?
Zoe: The stunt coordinator that worked on The Losers was the stunt coordinator on Avatar so I've known Garrett Warren for three or four years. He trained me so he's the one who has beaten me up and knows exactly what my body can do at times when I don't even know I can do it myself. So, by the time we got to Puerto Rico, we basically just changed a couple of things because I had to substitute the bow and the arrow for the guns and the knives and things like that.
So, throughout the entire summer while we were shooting I was still training with Garrett because we really wanted to get that fight scene to be amazing. Sylvain wanted it to be violent 
but he always said to us 'while they're beating the crap out of each other they're also getting to know each other'. So it's really like a very violent conversation. Jeffrey and I really wanted to capture that.
In terms of the conflict, or a resolution between Aisha and Clay, I think, at some point, they're gonna have to have that dance... maybe that's just me. It's just [a matter of] when but I think it's gonna happen. [Sylvain suggests that if you want to see what happens to the characters, just read the graphic novels].
TeenHollywood: Jeffrey told us that you did NOT kick his butt in your fight scene with him. We beg to differ. How did it feel kicking Jeffrey's butt and being the only female in this ensemble?
Zoe: [laughs] When you're the only girl in the cast it's almost like you have twice as much work to do because you don't want to be singled out. You're already the only girl so if you're the one who says 'I can't do this' or whatever, it's gonna be 'oh my gosh, she's wimping out because she's a girl'. So I toughed it out. I really wanted to impress the guys.
I like being around men. I figure I can hold my own. Jeffrey was absolutely amazing in the fight scene. There were a couple of moments there where I'd look at him 'Oh my God. Did I really hit you hard on your head?' Or he would look at me and be like 'Did I slam you really hard?' I would be like [she groans]. But it was fun. I liked it. 
TeenHollywood: You have just had one big hit after another coming out this last year. How is that making you feel?
Zoe: You can only ask for one thing, just to be able to be in films, living off of your art enough to pay the bills. So when you get to do that and also you're recognized by amazing producers and directors for all the work that you put in, like what Jeffrey's been doing. He's been killing it since 'Grey's Anatomy'. He steps up the ante and he conquers it. I don't know about you, but Watchmen, he was the [she spells] s.h.i.t. in it [we laugh].
So, as an artist, to get to work with him and actors who challenge you every single day, with love and respect [is great]. We would go at it on set when we did not agree with a certain beat of a scene but it was also the most healthy, constructive thing and you learned so much. We're in constant schooling every film that we do. That's meant to be purposeful for our careers.
TeenHollywood: Talk about your wardrobe in the film. You didn't have on the stiletto heels while kicking butt. For me, that made it more "real". Was that your idea or....?
Zoe: Magali (Guidasci) who is an amazing costume designer and Sylvain had sketched out a very specific flavor or tone for each of the characters but they left enough space for us to come and incorporate our essence, how we were visualizing and incarnating these characters. I have to say that I had to lose that battle, very much so, to Sylvain and Magali because that hotel room fight, I could have done it in my black Gucci boots too but they wanted no heels. I'm like 'heels or no heels, a woman could still kick a man's a** if she could, if she proposes herself to, in Louboutins or flats or whatever....
TeenHollywood: Jeffrey said he just didn't want a stiletto implanted in his forehead.
Zoe: [laughing] But they were rubber! 
TeenHollywood: Jeffrey also said that having you sitting in his lap for the love scene wasn't too bad. Was that hot scene embarrassing for you or what?
Zoe: It helps when you get along with the actors and it helps that Jeffrey was such a gentleman and so respectful because, trust me, as a woman, try doing that with a freakin' prick! Been there. It's not a good day at work. You're the only one that's naked and you have to act like you're not aware that you're naked. When you work with a good director and a great actor that makes it seem like a regular Tuesday, then love scenes are like any other fight scene. They're just awesome.
TeenHollywood: Talk about being in the super warm jungle carrying lots of gear in Puerto Rico.
Zoe: I will say one thing. As a half Puerto Rican woman, for us girls, it was great that it was really hot because that meant that the boys would walk around shirtless and these boys are really cute with no shirts on!
TeenHollywood: Amen to that! What did everybody do to relax at the end of the day?
Zoe: Do you want the PG-13 version? I would just have a beer with the guys. I'm a beer and wine kind of girl and I like to unwind with the boys. We were staying at this awesome hotel in San Juan and the crew, the team, the cast would just go there to unwind having Sangria or whatever, then hit the casinos for two hours and go to bed and study your lines. It was just like any other day. Trust me, my mom was there with us the entire time too... Latinos.
TeenHollywood: On the warm and fuzzy side, we hear that Jeffrey adopted a puppy on set when it was hit by a car and you really loved it, correct? 
Zoe: Oh, Bandito. He's the cutest thing. He has this one blue eye, one brown eye. He was really shy at first. He had the little broken leg when he came back from the hospital and Jeffrey would bring him to his trailer and everybody would come see Bandito in Jeffrey's trailer and by the end of summer,
Bandito was like this wolf [she raises up her shoulders and walks like a macho dog] and running on set liked 'I'm, rich, b**ch!' So Bandito knew that he won the lottery, trust me. [Note: Jeffrey still has the puppy and has shortened his name to Bandit]
TeenHollywood: On to Death at a Funeral. You were kind of the only woman again around a bunch of really funny men. What was that like? Are you funny?
Zoe: No, I don’t think I’m funny at all, and I don’t want to be. But I just knew this was going to be an amazing experience. Everything about the concoction of this project was appealing from [director] Neil Labute to Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracey Morgan, Danny Glover. I do remember asking my team 'who is going to be playing the crazy boyfriend that’s high on substances?', and they said, ‘Oh, James Marsden,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ It just felt to me like something that I’ve never done before and it was a challenge.
TeenHollywood: Was Jimmy Marsden just hilarious to work with?
Zoe: The funniest thing that Jimmy did was the scene where he’s supposed to be completely naked on the rooftop and I’m supposed to open the window and go, ‘What are you doing, come back inside!’ He didn’t give me any warning that he had taken off his pants. When Neil yells, ‘Action,’ I open the window, (and say, ‘What –‘ and I just looked at his eyes, I kept looking at his face. It’s awkward, you’re embarrassed, he’s embarrassed, and then they yell, ‘Cut,’ and I yell at him, ‘Next time if you don’t tell me, I’ll punch you. I just need to be ready!
TeenHollywood: Let's talk sequels. Any word on Star Trek 2?
Zoe: No. Trust me, I email J.J [Abrams] every other day just like the rest of us.We're like what the f*** dude? JJ is an amazingly talented man, full of
surprises and I heard through the grapevine it might be early next year that we¹re all going to start getting into the Enterprise so I'm really excited
about that.
TeenHollywood: When the Avatar sequel is ready will you have that Neytiri part down or are there different things you want to do with that performance the next time around?
Zoe: It's whatever the boss says. I need at least six to seven months to get into Neytiri again, with training and stuff. Whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen. The good thing we know about Jim [Cameron] is [you might have to] wait ten years for it, but by the time he does come around, he gives you something that changes your life or at least touches it. I know that Avatar 2 is gonna be as great as the first one because Jim is the s.h.i.t.
