Actress Zoe Saldaña recently won an Oscar, and also recently celebrated another huge accomplishment. Namely that Saldaña is the highest grossing actor of all time, thanks to her roles in the Avatar franchise and the MCU (both of which are streaming with a Disney+ subscription). She recently spoke about the possibility of someone else taking on that mantle, and one thing she’s especially passionate for.
Fans who spent wars watching the Marvel movies in order have seen as both Saldaña and Scarlett Johansson become the highest grossing actress ever. The Emilia Pérez star recently spoke with Time about having that title, and seems to have a good attitude about it. As she shared:
I know that this is not going to be forever. It’s only here now, until, you know, Scarlett comes up and breaks it again. As long as it’s Scarlett or another woman, I’m going to be happy. And if it’s a woman of color, I’m going to be even happier, because I know how much harder it is to shatter a ceiling.
Talk about a healthy perspective. It seems like Saldaña is happy to pass on the mantle of the highest grossing actor of all time. She’d be happy to see Scarlett Johansson pass her again, although she’d be even happier to see a woman of color get that honor. After all, the 47 year-old actress knows how much harder it can be to succeed for actresses of color in particular to get these types of high-profile jobs.
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Many of Zoe Saldaña’s best movies include major franchises, from Pirates of the Caribbean, to Star Trek, to Guardians of the Galaxy, to the Avatar movies. And when Avengers: Endgame and Avatar duked it out to be the highest grossing movie of all time, she happened to be in both of those titles. Later in the same interview, the award-winning actress spoke more about the honor of being the most successful film actress ever, offering:
It feels different because I’m a woman. I’m a proud woman of color. I’m a daughter of immigrants. People like me never even imagine breaking a record.
Saldaña’s success story is pretty incredible, including her recent Academy Award win for Emilia Pérez. It sounds like she has a great perspective about the heights of her career, especially with her family’s immigrant background. She’s put in the work, and is now the most bankable movie star in the industry.
Zoe Saldaña has a number of upcoming projects coming, although it remains to be seen if more Avatar movies are coming down the line. As for Scarlett Johansson, she’s got a number of big projects coming down the line including The Batman Part II.