Zoe Saldaña Says Steven Spielberg “Restored My Faith” in Big-Budget Films After ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’
While Zoe Saldaña is best known for her work in James Cameron’s Avatar movies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the decorated actress began her career in a different blockbuster franchise.
I am, of course, talking about Pirates of the Caribbean, where Saldaña portrayed Anamaria in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Though her performance in the film would help bring Saldaña to the national scene, the actress has long been open about the fact that working on Pirates was not an enjoyable experience.
Saldaña Reflects on ‘Curse of the Black Pearl’
At Saturday’s BFI London Film Festival, Saldaña reflected on her Pirates of the Caribbean experience, throwing shade at director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
“The crew and the cast, they’re 99% of the time super marvelous,” she said, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.
“But if the studio and the producers and the director, they’re not leading with kindness and awareness and consideration, then that big of a production can become a really bad experience and you may tip overboard. And I kind of did.”
Then Came Spielberg
Coming off of Pirates, Saldaña admitted that she became jaded about big-budget productions. Then, she got to work with Steven Spielberg on The Terminal.
“I worked with Steven Spielberg eight months later, and he restored my faith that big can also be great,” Saldaña said
Jerry Bruckheimer Since Apologized
While Saldaña has been open about the fact that she did not enjoy her time as a pirate, she also revealed that Jerry Bruckheimer has since apologized to her.
“Years later, I was able to meet with Jerry Bruckheimer, who apologized that I had that experience cause he really wants everyone to have a good experience on his projects,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2022. “That really moved me.”
Now an established actress who has appeared in four of the six highest-grossing films of all time, Saldaña can look back on her Pirates experience with perspective. Still, as a Pirates of the Caribbean fan, it is disappointing to hear that the actress did not enjoy the adventure.
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