Favorite Thing #4: Zoe Saldana

Yes.

In an interview with The Independent, Zoe Saldana has proved how amazing she is. After playing Neytiri in Avatar and Ohura in the latest Star Trek movie, she's developed a reputation for being the bomb diggity. Now, she proves that she's earned it:

On being a member of the Boy's Club:

"I love working with the boys, and I probably do that more than most actresses. I got to do it on Star Trek, Pirates of the Caribbean and now this," she says, clearly relishing her position as the only female cast-member of The Losers... "And these kinds of films – sci-fi and action – with all-male crews are just the kind of films I want to make. I love girls, don't get me wrong. I'd do a Jane Austen film any day. But, as a woman, to get to play rough characters that are usually part of more male-driven stories, gives me a lot of freedom and versatility in terms of my career."

Let's break that down: being tough and driven gives this woman a lot of freedom and versatility in terms of her career. She's empowered, she's mighty, and she's not scared to say that she's taking charge of her ambitions.

The joke involved a goat.

On something that nearly any woman working in a largely male environment has experienced:

"When you're the only girl in a cast, I almost feel like you have twice as much work to do because you don't want to be singled out. You're already the only girl, so if you're the one that says, 'I can't do this' or whatever, it's gonna be like 'Oh, my gosh, she's wimping out because she's a girl', so I toughed it out."

On taking on more traditional roles:

When asked if she holds a secret burning desire for more traditional female roles, she frowns*, "Like the damsel in distress? Yes, of course. But I want to play great characters, too. Right now, I feel like Hollywood has made a living out of portraying women to be such canker sores; like we just have to be rescued all the time because we're so incompetent when in reality sometimes art needs to reflect what's going on in real life, and in today's society – especially in American society – women are doing so much.

*Emphasis mine.

Most women, when asked an uncomfortable question like "yes, you're strong and wonderful, but aren't you dying to play a weak woman?" will laugh and turn it into a joke. I know I would - but this girl knows how to handle herself. A question like this is downright insulting, and she handles it with... panache.

On the sequel to Enterprise:

"Trust me, I email J J [Abrams] every other day, just like the rest of us, and we're just like, 'What the fuck, dude?'... I heard through the grapevine that we might be starting back into the Enterprise next year... As for Uhura and Spock? Everyone's putting in their two cents. I don't care as long as I get to kick some ass."

Romance? Whatevs. Ass-kickery? YES.