'I Always Wanted To Be The Warrior'

Actress, wife, mother, activist… best not to mess with Zoe Saldana, as we found out

- Lottie Lumsden

Zoe Saldana takes a sip of rosé from a white-china cup and looks out towards the mellowing LA skyline. We’ve been together since 9 AM this morning and choosing to drink wine out of a coffee cup is probably the least surprising thing about the actress.

On set, shortly after she decamped into the make-up chair, a small shoal of children arrived with a rugged, handsome, long-haired Italian man and a smiling older couple in tow. This was Saldana's family — her three sons, Cy, Bowie, and Zen, her husband, Marco, and his parents. The children did what children do — ran about, shrieked, but also snuck a look at mummy at work on set. Saldana explains that it's important they see she is happy at work — that's one of the reasons she tries to bring them to everything she does. Marco, meanwhile, is a quieter, steady presence, always watching. Watching and smiling, like the most handsome pirate on earth.

Saldana, 39, made the decision last year that her family should join her at work wherever possible. She'd had a crazy few years of it, what with filming Avengers: Infinity War (out last month), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, and starting work on the long-awaited Avatar 2. And then there were the promotional tours for the franchises, moving house and, you know... giving birth to Zen.

"It [2017] was my most hectic year,” she smiles. "A lot happened in our lives. I was dividing my time between my family life, personal life and also two of my movies, which were shooting in different locations —Atlanta and Los Angeles. It became very stressful. I realised that life needs to be more balanced. Not only was it affecting me, but it was affecting my children and husband.” Twins Cy and Bowie are three, and Zen is now one. "A lot of decisions were made for the betterment of our health.”