'I couldn't stop crying':Avatar star Zoe Saldana reveals how starring in the biggest box office hit ever gave her a breakdown
By Mike Larkin
Last updated at 12:16 AM on 9th August 2011
Avatar actress Zoe Saldana has revealed she had a mental breakdown after starring in the hit movie shot her to A-list stardom.
She had a huge 2009 that saw her star as Uhura in Star Trek and Neytiri in the James Cameron blockbuster, which became the highest grossing film of all time.
But the stress of working and promoting the film took such a toll that she lost control in a hotel room while getting ready to film another movie.
Breakdown: Zoe Saldana revealed she suffered a breakdown due to the stress of becoming an A-list star following the success of Avatar it emerged today
She told Latina magazine: 'The year after Avatar was just emotionally overwhelming. I was travelling all over the world, waking up in different time zones.
'Your body gets exhausted, and by the end of the year I just collapsed.'
Covergirl: Actress Zoe Saldana makes the revelations in this month's edition of Latina magazine
But the she reached her lowest ebb while getting ready to make Columbiana, which is released in the US at the end of the month.
She said: 'I was in Paris training for Colombiana, sitting in my hotel room, and I couldn’t stop crying.
'I couldn't stay awake. I must have slept for an entire month.'
But the 33-year-old also admits that she could not bear to take a break and thrown away years of slog to reach the pinnacle of the acting word.
She said: 'I just want the best filmmakers in the world to tell me, 'You're good, kid, you're legit.'
'The recognition will never get old, and I'll never get accustomed to it.
'I don't ever want to, because that will mean I'm taking it for granted.
'That's why I work, not for the luxuries or the awards.'
But she admits she has came up with a unique coping method to deal with all the rushing around she has to do as a A-list movie actress.
She said: 'I just stay at home and do absolutely nothing.
'When I was younger, that would have made me feel like such a failure. Now that I'm older, I know what it means to shut down.
'I don't shower if I don't want to. I don't answer e-mails.
Zoe's Avatar: She starred as Neytiri in James Cameron's record-breaking blockbuster hit
'It's a healthy way of being selfish. You know you're old when gardening, the Food Network and voice notes from your nieces and nephews blow your mind.'
The New Jersey actress also believes having a small group of close friends, rather than getting mixed up in the Hollywood party scene, has helped her.
She said: 'If you surround yourself with good people, if you’re having a bad day – which everyone does – they will protect you, and it will never reach any kind of surface.
'But if you surround yourself with people who don’t really love you and care for you, they’ll be the first ones to expose you. That’s dangerous.'
Thor blimey: Zoe appeared onstage alongside Marvel star Chris Hemsworth at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards
The Death at a Funeral star also said the key to her successful 12-year relationship with her fiance Keith Britton is down to them not allowing outsiders to get them down.
She said:'I think the only reason we’ve made it this long is because we don’t listen to anybody but ourselves.
'We’ve still managed to sustain a relationship in a world where half of the people we know are divorcing or going through problems.
'It’s like that song we both love by Frank Sinatra – we did it our way!'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2023942/Avatar-star-Zoe-Saldana-reveals-starring-biggest-box-office-hit-gave-breakdown.html#ixzz1UVg6DrJ4
