Zoe Saldana

I know the responsibility that entails from telling a story. The one thing I despise the most is when I go to a movie and I see a whole bunch of lazy actors making me waste my time and money.

I'm a girl from Queens. I've never gone, 'What am I doing today? Oh, I'm gonna grab a gun and learn how to use it.'

I just want to be a part of great stories, whether I'm part of an amazing ensemble cast or I'm leading it or the antagonist or whatever.

Music is a very big participant in everything I do, from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed.

Our censorship has sort of gotten a little too far. Too much censorship is just as bad as having none at all. Children need to be exposed to things, because if they don't see it, eventually, it's not like it's not going to happen, but it's just that there needs to be a balance.

I love aging. Why would I want to be 21 for the rest of my life?

There comes a day when you've become comfortable in your skin. But God as my witness, I am going to try to do everything I can to keep this ass together for as long as I possibly can - without going against nature.

I don't understand labels. I don't need anybody to tell me I'm Latina or black or anything else. I've played characters that were written for Caucasian females, I just want to be given the same consideration as everybody else, and so far that has been happening.

It gets pretty boring when all you are is the support system for a male character.

I had to quit ballet because it felt like a part of me was dying inside.

In dance you use every party of your body except your voice. I wanted to start acting because I wanted to use my voice.

If there's anything that I've always said about myself is that to me, it's much more important for me to get to work with filmmakers that I've grown up loving and admiring.

I just want to be part of great stories that are told and for them to be relevant.

Physical roles give me a chance to learn something new.

I don't like things like little sandals that look fragile. I like to look strong and commanding.

I'm Latin - we start young, honey!

Every time an adult is going to write something for a teenager and you don't have, physically, a person who is that, you are always going to be a little off.

Dancing for the length of time that I did, it centered me in such a way to be really in tune with my body, and I just feel like I'm physically able to do things because of my ballet background. Without ballet, I don't think I'd look graceful at all on screen.

I'm a very feminine person, but I have this hard shell, man, and I stay focused and don't take things personally.

I like to look strong and commanding.

I'm more of a guy's girl. I like having a beer in a bar, and I don't bicker or sit down and do my nails.

I have a hyper personality.

I'm learning the power of going away for the weekend and keeping myself company.

I am hoping for a long career.

I don't believe actors who say they don't bleed into their characters. It's absolutely impossible not to.

I am fluent in Spanish and I understand French, Italian and Portuguese.

There are a lot of magazines that are still sort of... that only cater to a certain demographic and only put certain people on their covers.

I get along very well with animals and children. I dig them, I get them.

Happiness is nothing but temporary moments here and there - and I love those. But I would be bored out of my mind if I were happy all the time.

It takes a lot of courage to face up to things you can't do because we feed ourselves so much denial.

Glamour is about feeling good in your own skin.

Call me crazy - I love elk meat!

What doesn't feel okay to me, what feels a little bit out of balance, is when you want to turn yourself into something else - when you want to be another person.

Our brains are very animal but also very strange and egotistical. We're narcissistic.

To be seen and to be respected for my work and acknowledged as a true American Latina... means a lot to me.

A child speaks more sense than an adult half of the time.

I want to be in the small percentage of women who don't settle for conventional roles.

I'm so intrigued by women throughout history where the significance of what they were representing at that time is obscured by the fact a man saved them or they were prostitutes.

I love the anxiety, the pressure of the loud room full of yapping kids. But I'm a kid myself.

Every character has their reasons - even the characters who do dumb things.

There's nobody on this earth who can tell you that what you're feeling is wrong. They can tell you it's different to what they're feeling.

I never like to get political, but when you have the ability, through your media, to influence a large mass of people, I would want to be a part of the evolving cycle of progress vs. keeping things the way that they are.

As a woman, you spend so much time either cooking or getting ready to go somewhere. I like to have music when I'm doing either of these things.

When I act, a part of me goes into the character I am playing.

I love wearing men's clothing and underwear.

The biggest battle that I have is being a woman in the world. That takes center stage for me.

I want to love life.

I want to be the best daughter, sister, friend and wife I can possibly be - because when I die, I am not going to be buried with my Oscar.

People think of Latina women as being fiery and fierce, which is usually true. But I think the quality that so many Latinas possess is strength. I'm very proud to have Latin blood.

I'm very accepting with my age. It's like notches on your belt: experience, wisdom, and a different kind of beauty. There comes a day when you've become comfortable in your skin.