ET spoke to Saldana at CinemaCon Thursday where she received the 'Star of the Year' award.
Zoe Saldana loves playing Gamora almost as much as her kids love seeing her as the green Guardians of the Galaxy character. ET's Kevin Frazier spoke to the 43-year-old actress and mother of three at CinemaCon Thursday about her children seeing her in one of her most iconic roles.
"All the time. All the time," Saldana said when asked if she FaceTimes her sons will in her green Gamora makeup. "You can tell they're always taken aback by it. I think that secretly, they love it. But deep, deep down, I'm always their mom, so, I'm definitely not the coolest person in the room anymore, and that's quite humbling."
While Saldana is up at all hours creating content for the upcoming installment of the Guardians franchise, what makes it even more special is knowing that it will be some of the last times she gets to dress as the beloved character.
"It's also because it's the last installment," she shared. "This can very well be the last time they get to do this makeup on me, that they turn me into Gamora, so we've been savoring every moment."
While she called the end of the franchise bittersweet, Saldana did say just because it's ending, doesn't mean it's over.
"Of course. It will always be bittersweet, but the one thing that I'm learning now that I'm in my 40s and I've been doing this for 20 years, it doesn't have to be the end. You can always take it upon yourself to check in, to get everybody together, to have those dinners," Saldana stressed. "To witness everybody in their great moments and in their not so great moments. And I feel like what made us a family, is we've been through so much as the Guardians of the Galaxy."
The cast has bonded over the years in both good times and more challenging ones, including as Saldana mentions, the controversy surrounding James Gunn -- who was temporarily fired from Marvel in 2018 over resurfaced, offensive tweets -- but it's only made them that much stronger.
"I feel like what made us a family is that we've been through so much as the Guardians of the Galaxy. We all know what happened to James Gunn years ago. And that was a test for all of us. And we were the Guardians of the Galaxy," she explained. We had his back and we stood strong, and we feel tighter than ever.
Saldana continued, "It's a really special group, and everybody makes an effort to love each other, to love the other, and that's beautiful."
The Amsterdam actress was presented with the Star of the Year award at the Las Vegas convention, and the significance of the honor isn't lost on her, telling ET receiving the award almost feels like an "out of body experience."
"I think awards are not something that I've experienced myself in my personal career. I've always been happy for others when they get that recognition -- I'm rooting for others," she said. "To be in this place, feels more like an out of body experience, but it is compelling me to stand in my own skin and be proud. Be proud of what I've done. Because I've always been a quiet warrior."
Adding, "It's not about what you say, it's about what you do. And I've been dong a lot, for many, many years. So, it's good. It's good to be recognized."
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is due out in theaters May 5, 2023.
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