Zoe Saldaña famously starred as Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek film series, but before her career breakthrough in that film, she was clueless as to everything about the franchise. Her introduction to the world of Trekkies was through director Steven Spielberg.
Saldaña was cast in Spielberg’s 2004 film The Terminal as Dolores, an immigration officer obsessed with Star Trek. Because of her character’s personality, the actress did a lot of research until her popularity as Dolores the Trekkie became her advantage in landing a role in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek installment.
Zoe Saldaña Did Not Know Anything About Star Trek
In an interview with TrekMovie, actress Zoe Saldaña confessed that she had no idea about anything Star Trek until she starred in Steven Spielberg’s movie. Her character was pretty much a Trekkie, and she had to embody someone who is obsessed with the franchise.
“I didn’t even know what the word ‘Trekkie’ meant. So I didn’t know what conventions were. I knew of Star Trek, but not extensively. So part of doing my research to have the feel to be a Trekkie and to go to these conventions.”
Part of her character study was to watch the previous Star Trek films. She recalled feeling inspired by the franchise that even after many years, it has a loyal following.
“I saw a couple of the episodes, and I saw Trekkies 1 and 2, and I remember watching it, and the people around me were sort of laughing at everything, and I felt so overwhelmed, and I felt so happy that I remember thinking, ‘I want to be like that, I want to be so passionate about something that I incorporate it in my everyday life and it is the reason I wake up and it fulfills me.’ ”
The Guardians of the Galaxy star’s appreciation for the fandom and the movies became her leverage in bagging the role of Nyota Uhura in 2009’s Star Trek. Saldaña also shared that Spielberg visited the set and bragged to everyone that he taught the actress how to do the Vulcan salute.
“It was through the fans that I became very, very curious. What is it about this show and these characters and these stories that drew people to keep it alive after forty-some years after only a few seasons?”
Star Trek has an impressive 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie also grossed over $385 million against a production budget of $150 million.
Zoe Saldaña Wants To Do One More Star Trek Film
In her conversation with Comic Book, Zoe Saldaña revealed she is aware of the reports of a brewing Star Trek installment. She was only concerned that the older cast would get replaced by younger actors.
“I just heard that they’re gearing up to do a new one with a younger sort of, take on it. Like it’s been off. I don’t know if it’s from the before or the after, but that they really still hope to grab all of us veterans and bring us back for one last round.”
The actress ultimately professed her enthusiasm to return to the franchise for one last film. It would certainly take a lot of effort to bring the entire team back, but she is not losing hope.
“Listen, I know it’s a lot to wrangle a whole bunch of people with busy schedules. But, working with J.J. Abrams, and for J.J. Abrams at Bad Robot was always just a wonderful and beautiful experience for me. So, if I get to do that one last time, I would be so grateful.”
Saldaña truly owes Steven Spielberg her involvement in Star Trek, the franchise that helped launch her career and made her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.
Star Trek is available to stream via Netflix.
