Zoe Saldaña Reflects on Her First Movie, 'Center Stage' -- and the Sweet Way Her Grandma Predicted Her Success Staff, 10/29/2024 Zoe Saldaña reflects on her debut film, *Center Stage*, recalling the poignant moments filming at Lincoln Center and her grandmother’s prophetic belief in her success. She shares how this film marked her transition from ballet to acting, launching her into a blockbuster career. Don't miss her heartfelt insights! While on The View on Oct. 29 promoting the second season of her Paramount+ series Special Opps: Lioness and the highly anticipated film musical Emilia Pérez, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin noted that the landmark anniversary of Saldaña's debut film is coming up next year.
"I love Center Stage!" Saldaña, 46, gushed of the film in which she played Eva Rodríguez, a student at a fictional ballet academy based on the School of American Ballet at New York's Lincoln Center.
Saldaña, who studied dance as a child and has described ballet as an early passion, noted that the film shot in her "hometown" of New York City, and that she turned 21 while filming.
The movie's primary location held special meaning for her as well, she explained.
"We were shooting it in Lincoln Center, which was this place that I used to go there all the time as a little girl with my grandma," Saldaña told The View hosts. "And my gram would go, 'One day, one day, you're going to be in there.' And it all brought it full circle."
But, she said, Center Stage also helped her realize the time had come to move away from dance and pursue acting.
"It was about ballet, which was such a big part of my life," she said of the film. "But I needed to sort of transition into other forms of art. And I feel like Center Stage kind of solidified that."
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Prior to the 2000 film, Saldaña had only appeared in a two-episode arc on Law & Order. But Center Stage launched her film career, which would include major roles in multiple blockbuster franchises like J.J. Abrams' Star Trek films, James Cameron's Avatar and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy.
In 2020, Saldaña reunited with Center Stage costars Amanda Schull, Sascha Radetsky and Ethan Stiefel for a virtual fundraiser the American Ballet Theatre's Crisis Relief Fund, which provided aid for dancers, production crews, musicians, ballet staff and faculty impacted by canceled engagements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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