Actors on set sometimes face unexpected situations, and for Zoe Saldaña, one such surprise came during filming for the 2010 comedy Death at a Funeral.
In the black comedy film, the actress shared the screen with James Marsden. This film revolved around a dysfunctional family gathering to bury a family member. Saldaña and Marsden played the roles of a couple who were planning to get married.
James Marsden’s Unexpected Move Almost Led Zoe Saldaña to Punch Him
Zoe Saldaña, known for her roles in action-packed films like Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy, shared a funny story about a scene with James Marsden on the set of Death at a Funeral.
In the film, Saldaña’s character (Elaine) was engaged to be married to Marsden’s character (Oscar). The actress was prepared for a scene where Marsden’s character would be partially dressed on a rooftop.
However, when she opened a window during filming, she was surprised to find the X-Men star completely naked (something he hadn’t mentioned beforehand). The 45-year-old actress recounted the incident to Parade:
“The funniest thing that Jimmy did wasn’t so funny. He’s supposed to be n*ked on the rooftop and I 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. So I just opened the window and saw a lot more of him than I was expecting, and I’m just trying not to look below his eyes.”
Understandably taken aback, Saldaña later joked about wanting to punch him playfully. “Warn me if you ever do that again or I’m going to punch you,” she remembered yelling at him.
Zoe Saldaña Advocates Against Unnecessary N*dity in Films
Though Zoe Saldaña doesn’t mind using her “physical assets as a weapon, but there’s a limit.” Once, she herself raised concerns about her own n*de scenes. In the 2010 action movie The Losers, Saldaña’s character (Aisha) was originally written to be completely n*de in a scene.
However, she felt that the scene didn’t fit well within the context of the action-packed thriller. Saldaña wasn’t afraid to voice her reservations to directors and producers. So, she directly approached the director to express her concerns about the scene. The Passaic native said in the same interview:
“The way that scene was written in the original script, my character was naked. I literally told the director, ‘If I am going to do this scene, there is no way I’m going to be n*de because it just isn’t necessary or even believable.”
She successfully advocated for the scene to be rewritten, appearing in lingerie instead. The mom of three recognized that n*dity shouldn’t be the default for female characters, and actors should feel comfortable discussing scenes that make them uneasy.
Watch Death at a Funeral and The Losers on Amazon Prime Video.
