Zoe Saldana reveals why she initially turned down the offer to work with Nicole Kidman on Lioness
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Zoe Saldaña is the latest Harper's Bazaar cover star.
In the accompanying interview she revealed that she initially turned down her role in the hit show Special Ops: Lioness, which also stars Hollywood heavyweight Nicole Kidman.
The 46-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress plays head spy Joe McNamara in the thriller, which first aired in July 2023.
Zoe confessed that she was initially opposed to portraying her character, chief of the CIA's Lioness sector, due to their opposing temperaments.
'I didn't feel I was cut out for it,' she explained of McNamara's routine behavior, which is in contrast to Saldaña's free spirit. 'I was convinced that I was going to fail.'
One year later she changed her mind and circled back to series creator Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone). 'He responded immediately, and he was like, "We're f*****g waiting on you,"' she recalled.
Zoe Saldaña is the latest Harper's Bazaar cover star
In the accompanying magazine interview Zoe revealed that she initially turned down her role in the hit show Special Ops: Lioness, which also stars Hollywood heavyweight Nicole Kidman
The 46-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress plays head spy Joe McNamara in the thriller, which first aired in July 2023
In conversation with journalist Kaitlyn Greenidge, Zoe spoke of her struggle with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which she says has contributed to a lifetime of what she described as 'restlessness.'
'I was always off,' Saldaña said about her neurodiversity.
'When you have a child that has ADHD and is dyslexic and has a lot of energy and doesn’t sit still and is unable to listen, you think that it’s on purpose. I just remember asking myself, "Why don’t I fit in? Why do I do this?"
'It would make me really sad, and it would make me feel really isolated,' she explained.
Inside the pages of the glossy, for which she modeled a series of stunning designer looks, Zoe also discussed feeling isolated as a child after becoming a New York transplant in the Dominican Republic.
Following her father's premature death when she was just nine-years-old, her grieving mother sent her and her two sisters to live with family on the island.
'You can’t speak English; you have to speak only Spanish. You can’t code-switch,' the star recalled of the culture shock.
She added, 'And then you get bullied because kids don’t understand you. And we weren’t little victims. We pushed back, but then they pushed harder, because they all understood each other.'
The 46-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress revealed her pert chest in a sheer dress by Saint Laurent, baring her nipples
Inside the pages of the glossy, Zoe opened up about feeling isolated as a child after becoming a New York transplant in the Dominican Republic. Following her father's premature death when she was just nine-years-old, her grieving mother sent her and her two sisters to live with family on the island.
The Hollywood veteran posed in a Dolce & Gabbana trench coat and Wolford tights
Zoe found solace in the performing arts, studying ballet and describing it as 'exactly what I needed to settle my restless mind.'
Engaging in performing arts brought her peace, she told the outlet.
'I learned in a very innocent, unconscious way when I was very young that I need to live in art, because I find peace,' she detailed. 'I can rest when I’m creating.'
In the story's photo spread, the dark-haired beauty showed off her pert chest in sheer dresses by Saint Laurent and LaQuan Smith, baring her nipples in each.
One image sees the statuesque mother-of-two in a soft brown lace gown with a long keyhole slit at the bodice.
Saldana posed with conviction against a pale, lime-colored background, standing tall in a pair of glossy, merlot-hued Larroudé x Altuzarra heels.
Other outtakes from the Larissa Hofmann photo shoot show the silver screen siren lying on a magenta carpet in a nude Anthony Vaccarello-designed mini frock with ruffled red trim accents.
The Hollywood vet is fresh off her Golden Globe win for her role in the genre-defying film Emilia Perez.
