Zoe Saldana Movies: 5 of Her Most Iconic Roles

By Rick Martin First Posted: Jun 24, 2023 06:30 PM EDT

Zoe Saldana is one of the most iconic names to ever come out of the Dominican Republic. She has appeared in some very big movie franchises and starred in several iconic roles.

While she has appeared in other films and TV shows before, she first really broke out in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl." Since then, she has had one big role after another.

Zoe Saldana's 5 Most Iconic Movie Roles

Since breaking into the scene, the Dominican Republic's most beloved daughter has appeared in a lot of big-budget films that either broke box office records, were critically acclaimed, or both. We picked five of her most iconic roles, and these are:

Neytiri - The 'Avatar' Franchise

While she only appears in this one as a blue CGI alien creature, Neytiri is perhaps one of her most beloved and critically acclaimed roles of all time. She appeared as the Navi native in two films so far, and both appearances have proven to be box office gold. Stellar visuals and excellent directing from James Cameron, as well as having a great cast also help.

Gamora - The 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Trilogy

While her biggest box office success was with the "Avatar" films, her most iconic role to date would be Gamora, the lethal alien assassin and daughter of Thanos. The MCU has certainly elevated her profile to new heights, with Saldana proving that she has great chemistry with co-stars like Chris Pratt and Dave "Batista" Bautista. As Gamora, she also appeared in other MCU films and shows and is now entrenched in the Marvel fandom as a whole.

Comingsoon.net noted that her performance in the second film was perhaps the best one as she shined at how she portrayed her relationships with Nebula and Star-Lord, as well as Thanos.

Cataleya - Colombiana

While her two most iconic roles are as alien creatures, Zoe Saldana also has some very grounded roles. One of them is as Cataleya, an orphaned assassin in the film, Colombiana.

According to Collider, the film's plot is quite generic. However, Saldana's performance was stand-out and elevated the story. It also cemented the Dominican as a bonafide action star and was convincing in her role as a hitman.

Aisha al-Fadhi - The Losers

While she is best known for her role in Marvel movies, did you know she also played a DC comic book character as well?

The Losers is an adaptation of the DC-Vertigo comic book of the same name. In the film, she plays Bolivian assassin Aisha al-Fadhi and she truly prepared for the role as she underwent intense physical training for this. She also added some complexity to the character, making Aisha one of her most iconic roles to date.

Lieutenant Nyota Uhura - The 'Star Trek' Franchise

In 2009, JJ Abrams released the remake of the Star Trek franchise, with Zoe Saldana appearing as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, taking over the iconic role from Nichelle Nichols. Her performance breathed new life into the role as she mixes Uhura's confidence with a bit of vulnerability, which contrasts with Spock. She reprised the role twice.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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