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Zoe Saldaña is one of the only actresses in Hollywood who has been part of multiple highest-grossing films. The actress played the role of Neyitri in James Cameron’sAvatarfranchise, which was the highest-grossing film upon release. She then beat that record with her role as Gamora inAvengers: Endgame. She reprised her role as Neyitri inAvatar: The Way of Water.
Saldaña has been a part of multiple sci-fi film franchises. Apart from the MCU andAvatar, the actress has also appeared as Nyota Uhura in JJ Abrams’Star Trekreboot. However, that was not her first association with the franchise as she played the role of a Trekkie in the Tom Hanks starrerThe Terminal. In fact, she did so much research for her role that it made it much easier for her to be cast inStar Trek.
Zoe Saldaña Played A Trekkie In Tom Hanks’The Terminal
Tom Hanksstarred in Steven Spielberg’s dramaThe Terminalin 2004. The film was based on the life of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who lived as a refugee in France’s Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 to 2006. The film was partially inspired by the Iranian refugee and saw Tom Hanks play the role of Viktor Navorksi, a Krakozhian native who lives at JFK airport.
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The film then shows Hanks’ character helping many of his friends in the airport in different instances, including assisting the food delivery guy Enrique Cruz to approach the Customs and Border Protection Officer Dolores Torres, who Zoe Saldaña plays. The film was a commercial success, earning $219 million against a $60 million budget.
Zoe Saldañaplays a character who is a Trekkie, aStar Trekfan. This information is used by Hanks and Cruz to approach her in the film. Saldaña mentioned that she researched a lot about the IP before going on set despite not knowing anything about the universe before. She said in an interview withTrekMovie,
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 of being a Trekkie and to go to these conventions, 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 actress also does a Vulcan salute in the film, which seems a bit clairvoyant since she ended up playing Nyota Uhura in JJ Abrams’Star Trekreboot. The actress was paired up with Zachary Quinto’s Spock, a Vulcan native. In a way, her preparation for Tom Hanks’ drama seemed to have made her the perfect fit for the franchise.
Steven Spielberg Reportedly Taught Zoe Saldaña The Vulcan Salute
Zoe Saldaña has been in multiple sci-fi films in her career. Though beginning her career in dramas and comedies, she quickly became one of the biggest stars due to her appearance in films such asAvatar, Star Trek,andGuardians of the Galaxy. Saldaña was also a huge sci-fi nerd before she starred in these franchises and citedBlade Runneras her favorite (via Trek Movie).
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Despite her love for sci-fi films, the actress revealed that she was unaware ofStar Trekand its fandom until she starred in the Tom Hanks-starrerThe Terminal. Director Steven Spielberg reportedly taught her how to do the Vulcan salute in the film, where she played a Trekkie. She said that Spielberg even dropped into the sets of JJ Abrams’Star Trek,
Oh my god! He totally flaunted that he was the one that taught me to do [the Vulcan salute]. Because he really did. It took a little bit for me.
Saldaña reportedly got into the show so much due to the fans’ love that she was initially uncomfortable with her romantic angle with Spock as he was not an emotional being.
JJ Abrams’Star Trekfilms are streaming on Paramount+.The Terminalis streaming on FuboTV.
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2419
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
