Zoe Saldana – Rosemary’s Baby

Interview By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What made you interested in taking on this iconic role in Rosemary’s Baby?

A) My sisters [Cisely and Mariel Saldana] and I with our company [Cinestar Productions], we have a deal at Lionsgate, and Lionsgate was producing this with NBC. And one of the producers at Lionsgate was talking to my younger sister Cisely about it. I’m at my nieces’ Christmas show and I get an email from my sister (who’s sitting in front of me by the way) and she goes, “What about Rosemary’s Baby?” and then she turns around and gives me this look. So, I remember immediately my mom, my grandma, my in-laws, everybody’s looking at this exchange. And then it was a very quick decision.

Q) What sets this version apart from the original film?

A) What I liked about this modern tell of it, is that we were going to have the opportunity with having a female director and a very opinionated New Yorker, we were going to bring to life what we felt would be a more realistic woman, that is less subservient. Kind, light spirited, innocent, but not a slave to a marriage or to a man or overly obedient. She loves her husband, she’s very much committed to her marriage, but she’s inquisitive and she will raise concerns. Even when she’s not heard, she’ll try to the best of her abilities to be heard and that to me was much more natural for me to channel that. It also takes place in Paris.

Q) What kind of prep went into establishing your take on the role?

A) To get into her beleaguered character’s head, I became an active blog reader of parenting websites. It was easy for me to sympathize with a lot of the stories I had heard and symptoms I had read, and just try to channel it.

Q) What is your favorite aspect of your character?

A) I love that Rosemary isn’t a victim, but a survivor and she really sticks to her gut feeling when everyone else tells her otherwise.

Q) Was there anything you added to the character that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) I don’t know if I would say I “added” to the character of Rosemary as Ms. Farrow did an incredible performance in the original film version, but they were written with a different vision. I feel Rosemary sought the truth in all facets of the character.

Q) You and Patrick J. Adams play husband and wife. What were some of your favorite moments from filming with him?

A) He is a very talented and giving actor. We had great chemistry and I felt comfortable working together. I feel we both felt the right energy to immense ourselves into these characters and really be vulnerable. He is also very funny off screen and I enjoyed working with him!

Q) How was working with director Agnieszka Holland and did she provide you with any creative liberties or guidance with your portrayal?

A) What I liked about this modern day version of Rosemary’s Baby was that we were going to have a female director and a very opinionated New Yorker and artist, very smart with very strong choices, who wasn’t trying to copy the original icon film, but do a different version through a different a vision. The network made it clear they didn’t want to micromanage Holland’s vision, which leaves less to the imagination than Polanski’s film. That was already a risk that they were taking, so we knew that they were going to give us a certain amount of freedom.

Q) Were you looking forward to the immediate response to the movie that you’d receive through social media?

A) I don’t want to turn down good material just because I’m afraid of what others might think. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. I wasn’t trying to recreate the classic and amazing performances of Ms. Farrow, but do a modern day adaptation. Of course, you’re going to be a little afraid, but once you realize that, overall, every time one may adapt something or retell something, it’s never going to be accepted by everybody, you just remove that pressure off the table. If you don’t like the new, just respect the fact that it was a bold decision. It took a great amount of passion for the project. It’s okay! You’re not being disloyal. You’re just watching new things.