Zoe Saldana “driven crazy” by gender inequality

The Star Trek actress revealed her ultimate industry bugbear during a recent interview.

(Getty)

If there’s anything that drives Zoe Saldana up the wall, it’s outdated gender discrimination.

The Star Trek actress revealed her ultimate industry bugbear during a recent interview.

“It's very hard being a woman in a man's world, and I recognised it was a man's world even when I was a kid,” she told Manhattan magazine.

“It's an inequality and injustice that drove me crazy, and which I always spoke out against - and I've always been outspoken.”

She continued: “I love learning new skills, especially those you're told girls aren't good at - like parallel parking. ‘Hey, I'm going to learn to ride a Ducati!’”

The actress, who married Venetian former footballer Marco Perego in secret earlier this year, went on to admit that her views steer her towards choosing strong, female roles when it comes to accepting new jobs.

“I'm known for being selective in parts I either pick or pursue, and what matters most is that they be good female roles where the character isn't cardboard or objectified, and where there's real substance.

“No generic girlfriend or wife, and no sexy bombshell. Enough of that already!”

However, Saldana confirmed, she is not opposed to the odd bit of ballet.

“Before ballet, I had trouble concentrating, and I wouldn't even try to concentrate on things I wasn't interested in.

“The barre, the piano, the breathing - they calmed and centred me, and allowed me to learn lessons physically, which is how I learn best.”

Saldana next appears opposite Channing Tatum in animated movie Book of Life.