Zoe Saldana Talks Gamora in an Exclusive Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Recently, I had the pleasure attending the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 World Premiere! After the premiere, we had the opportunity to interview several cast members, including Zoe Saldana.
This event was hosted by Disney (all expenses were paid in exchange for press coverage).

I love strong female characters, especially when they are characters in a huge blockbuster movie that is going to show off the amazing skills of these leading ladies. Gamora, in Guardians, is a very strong character who really doesn’t take anything from anyone. She shows that women are decision makers, can be compassionate, and can kick-ass too!

We had a chance to sit down to talk to Zoe and discuss what her thoughts were on being a role model and playing strong female characters. Zoe Saldana is so full of personality and vibrancy, I can see how she is the perfect choice for parts like these. In this interview, we also talk about big changes for Gamora from the first movie to this one, the Gamora/Star-Lord Chemistry, and a hilarious stunt story!

Zoe Saldana Interview

A Message For Young Girls

“Vulnerability is strength, and being strong that means that you have to be vulnerable. I hope young women take that. I don’t see Gamora as a strong character. I see her as someone that’s tired, annoyed. But she’s also very vulnerable.”

Doing Stunts – Or Not

There is no doubt Zoe is a kick-ass actress. But even strong women have the option to sit it out. With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 packed full of sci-fi action, there is a lot of stunt work that has to take place. Zoe isn’t really a fan of doing all those stunts and praises her stunt actor for making Gamora look bad-ass. But there was that one time when she tried to do a 30-foot drop on her own…. it didn’t go exactly as she had planned.

“All the parts where Gamora looks absolutely unbelievably cool, that’s Leanne. And all the parts where I’m posing, and taking out my sword and stuff, that’s me. But I did do a lot of those jumps. And I would do a lot of the stunts that she would do, but like the PG-13 version.

There is a jump that I did. They made me jump from three stories, a 30-foot jump. And I was on wires. I still can’t remember if somebody told me and I just brain farted, or somebody forgot to tell me that I was going to free fall – I was not going to feel the tension on the wires.

So when they said action, I jumped and thought I was dying. Forgot to speak English! And then James Gunn was like, “Yeah, your face was kind of awful there. You have to do it again.” So I did it again. But as soon as I landed, I was like, I don’t want to do this again. The girly girl came out of me. I was just CRYING — it was awful, but super fun.”

Gamora’s Changing Role

I’m always nervous when characters start to change and evolve in sequels. I’m of the mindset that I love my characters as they were and I don’t want them to change too much, I don’t want them to become unrecognizable and eventually cast off/out. That is totally not the case with Gamora in Vol. 2!

“Now that I see the movie for the second time, I really respect the fact that James Gunn has a vision and an idea of an arc for each and every one of these characters, and what they represent as a family unit. And Gamora is this just unbreakable support wall, that everybody leans on. So there’s a lot that she can reveal, but it’s always within measure. And I think he’s pacing her out, at least I hope he is. But it was very beautiful.”

That Gamora and Star-Lord Chemistry – Is There?

We know that there is something going on between Peter Quill and Gamora, whether either of them wants to admit it or not. So does this get developed further in Vol. 2? While I cannot spoil exactly what happens, I can say that there is a little development in one direction or another. Here’s what Zoe had to say about it:

“I think that James Gunn is exceptionally talented in the way that he creates strong characters in the beginning, and then he really lets these characters tell him where they need to go, based on what he established before. So, Gamora and Quill, they’re best friends. The bond that they have is so spiritually dynamic. It’s stronger in the way that they communicate, the way that they counsel each other, and the way that they think and protect each other.”

While that may not exactly give you too many hints into the dynamic between the two, I know when you see the movie you are going to love the evolution of their relationship — I did!