Zoe Saldana speaks her mind: ‘I do believe in androgyny’

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The future begins

In Star Trek Into Darkness, a film adaptation of the 1960’s television series, and sequel to J.J. Abram’s 2009 release, Saldana finds herself in a context where mankind has mixed with extraterrestrials, hundreds of years in the future. The actress plays the character of Nyota Uhura, a human lieutenant and communications officer, whose part in the TV series was one of the first characters of African descent to be featured in a non-menial role.

Saldana describes the latest installment of the movie franchise, hitting theaters Friday, as “bigger” and “louder” than the first, and accordingly, “funner.” Her character’s romantic relationship with Spock (Zachary Quinto), a mixed human-Vulcan ambassador, serves as a humorous and thought-provoking anecdote to the plot, as she forces him to accept his job as leader and lover.

“What I liked about how J.J. portrayed their relationship, it makes it so relatable,” Saldana points out. “If we were set in the future, when two people come together, when they love each other, we’re still going to be having the same problems, having the same argument whether we’re in a car, on a bike or in a spaceship. It’s still, ‘Why didn’t you call me?’ ‘I did call you.’ ‘But you didn’t leave a message’…It doesn’t matter where you’re at, we’re still trying to find love.”

Loving without boundaries

It’s quite clear in conversation that Saldana keeps her family ties close, and says it was her mother, a “closeted Trekkie,” who helped her research the details of her part. She remembers glancing at Star Trek during her youth while her mom and grandmother were entranced, but didn’t discover the levels of devotion till more recently when she watched documentaries on the subject.

For whatever guard she may hold, Saldana manages to express herself with wise countenance and tenacious demeanor. She brings these attributes to her part in the film, and says that love, in a sense, is easy for those who want it.

“I believe whatever it is you set out to look for, you’re going to find, whether it’s love or problems or good things or happiness,” Saldana remarks. “We are the masters of our own universe. I do believe that because I believe in energy. We are alchemists, all of us, so we are searching for gold.”

The androgynous soul

Earlier this week, Saldana struck a new chord with fans when her revealing photo spread and interview for Allure went buzzing about the Internet. The actress posed in the nude with a smile, and was quoted as saying she could possibly “end up with a woman, raising my children” one day.

And that’s the truth of the matter, says the star. That was the real her – in her “real uniform” – speaking honestly.

“I do believe in androgyny,” Saldana says. “We are such a censored species that sometimes it baffles me how much we limit ourselves as human beings, as men, as women, as Americans, as Russians, as whatever. We have to label so many things in our lives in order to just get out of bed that it’s sickening.”

“Love needs to be completely free,” she continues. “As of now, my whole life, I’ve been attracted to the male species, but if one day I wake up and it’s the other way around, I will do that. And I will be loved, and supported by everybody I know because that’s the world that I live in.”

Follow Courtney Garcia on Twitter at @CourtGarcia