Actor Zoe Saldaña reflected on her career, her identity and her ambitions to direct in a public conversation at the Locarno Film Festival, where she received a Special Honorary Pardo. Best known for major franchises including "Star Trek," "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Avatar," and an Oscar winner for "Emilia Perez," Saldaña is also recognised as the actor whose films have collectively earned the most money at the box office, giving her remarks about branching into directing added weight.

Saldaña spoke about her childhood moving between New York and the Dominican Republic, and how the cultural adjustment shaped her, as well as her early ballet training, which ended because she had the "wrong-shaped feet." She said this sense of feeling like an outsider informs her performances in science-fiction roles such as Neytiri in "Avatar" and Gamora in "Guardians of the Galaxy." She also discussed her return to television via "Rosemary's Baby" and the third season of Taylor Sheridan's "Lioness," which she credited her manager Rick Yorn for bringing to her, alongside her upcoming role in the fourth "Avatar" film.