Twenty years ago, The Terminal, Steven Spielberg's bittersweet drama about a man stranded in an airport, was released. In the film, a young Zoe Saldana, then in her mid-twenties, played a smaller role as a passport control officer. Since then, she has starred in major franchises like Avatar, Star Trek, and the MCU. However, just before The Terminal, her enthusiasm for big blockbusters had been dampened by her experience on Pirates of the Caribbean, where she played Anamaria.
Saldana has previously been open about her negative experience during the filming of the first Pirates of the Caribbean fantasy. In 2022, she revealed that years later, Jerry Bruckheimer, the franchise's producer, even apologized to her, suggesting her bad feelings were not unfounded. The actress recently revisited the situation at the BFI London Film Festival, where she also shared how working with Spielberg helped her recover. "After that experience, I knew what kind of people I wanted to work with," she said about Pirates of the Caribbean. "The cast and crew are usually amazing 99% of the time. But if the studio, producers, and director don’t lead with kindness, thoughtfulness, and consideration, a big production can turn into a terrible experience, and it can break you. That's what happened to me."
Zoe Saldana fortunately found a remedy for her bad experience on Pirates of the Caribbean relatively quickly, as her next film involved working with major talents who did not disappoint. "Eight months later, I was working with Steven Spielberg, and he restored my faith that big productions can also be great," the actress said. On the set of The Terminal in 2004, she had the opportunity to work not only with the legendary director but also with colleagues like Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci.
According to Saldana, while working on The Terminal, she felt safe and comfortable. She recalled how Spielberg would always play music over the loudspeakers between takes, creating an environment where the cast and crew were in sync. Through this, Saldana became familiar with the work of Italian composer Nino Rota, known for scoring Fellini's classics and composing the iconic theme for The Godfather. While listening to Rota, she often had conversations with Spielberg, who shared a piece of wisdom that deeply resonated with her as a young actress and has stayed with her ever since: "To know where you're going, you also need to know where you came from."
