In Ryan Reynolds’ time-travel adventure ‘The Adam Project,’ Zoe Saldaña plays Laura, Adam’s (Reynolds) wife who went forward in time and was lost. It’s another strong entry in the sci-fi/fantasy genre for the actress, who is known for her work as Lt. Uhura in the Kelvin-verse Star Trek movies and Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy and the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When I asked about how Laura compares some of the other leading ladies she’s brought to life, Saldaña made it clear how each of them differ for her, both in the reason she joined each project and how she played each character.
“I don’t think that she was an easy character to make. I don’t want that to seem like, oh, I’m very nonchalant about the characters that I play,” she said. “I just liked the theme of time travel. The idea of a character, having the ability to go back through time and make amends and heal. I just saw that was really great and fascinating. I’m a huge Shawn Levy fan and I’m a Ryan Reynolds fan and I’m Mark Ruffallo fan. I’ve worked with Mark Ruffalo on a couple of movies. I idolized Jennifer Gardner, come on, who doesn’t. And it just felt to me like this film was a combination of all the films that I grew up watching in the eighties and nineties, but primarily the eighties when films were, you know, well rounded and families can watch it together.”
Themes of lost time
What really works about The Adam Project is that the film is about a young boy trying to reclaim his time with his father. Both versions of Adam (played by Walker Scobell as a child and Ryan Reynolds as an adult) have these repressed emotions about their father, and it hits for those of us who have lost our own dads and how we’ve all coped.
I brought up to Zoe Saldaña that I, myself, was part of the “dead dad club,” and she shared that she was also “a member” but went on to talk about that connection and why it’s such a beautiful part of Levy’s film.
“The most vivid dreams my whole life since I was 9 years old was of time travel and getting that opportunity back to be with my dad,” Saldaña confessed. “So this did have a lot of sentimental value for me. I’m a sucker for being able to really relive experiences that I treasured a lot in my life. And even if it’s vicariously through the eyes of a fictional character, like I just love it. I won’t deny myself that right. And this movie felt well rounded. I have to say, even in the way these characters are re-meeting and interacting with each other and then eventually, you know, letting go. And then that whole thing about like even though you get a second chance, the one thing that is off the table is you cannot change the course of life. Things that are meant to happen are meant to happen. And at the end of the day, once you know that reality, are you still willing to have faith that you can see that again? Like it’s just, it’s fairly beautiful. I just, I liked it. It was very hopeful.”
But Laura falls into this world by trying to figure out what is happening to the company that both she and Adam work for, and she’s a source of strength and purpose for Adam throughout the movie, even when she’s not with him. “She’s definitely strong in the sense that she needs to be stronger, you know, for both of them,” Saldaña said. “But I think that there’s a part of it that she has convinced herself that they are gonna be together, that their paths will always indefinitely cross. And I feel like that is also what moves her to make that ultimate decision and be that decisive.”
A legacy
For Saldaña, playing these action heroines is not new. She’s made a career out of bringing these strong women to the sci-fi/fantasy world and has inspired many with her characters, but she doesn’t see it as being in some box. She’s just is doing what she loves.
“I feel like building a legacy is something that you don’t see in your time while you’re here and that’s not why I’ve done the things that I do and I’m gonna keep doing them, even if I’m stereotypical, you know, I’m put in a stereotypical box in your box, not mine. I don’t live in a box. I love science fiction.”
But she also loves working with people in science fiction and talked to me about the freedom she finds within the genre. “I love collaborating with people that love science fiction as well. I love playing characters that are strong and independent and relevant and autonomous doesn’t matter what color skin they are. Doesn’t matter their abilities, doesn’t matter whose father whose son who’s whatever you know, and whose mother they are,” she said.
She went on to talk about giving young women the sense of ownership and inspiration within her characters. “And I think that’s important to sort of like, you know, give young women that message, that reminder it’s like, you are you, first and foremost, and let’s just start with that and let’s end on that note as well. Sometimes that’s the only statement you need and you don’t need to feel guilty if you don’t want children or if you’re gonna pursue a career this way, or if you’re gonna do that, or if you wanna run for president. You shouldn’t feel guilty for any of the choices that you make, but you shouldn’t feel the need to fulfill the roles that the world has designed for you, they are limited. There are not that many options. And it wouldn’t be fair if you did that. So I think it’s important for women, for us to remind ourselves that yes, we have our children and yes, we have our husbands and/o our partners and our parents and our in our communities. But you also have yourself.”
The future of Star Trek
As someone who absolutely loves her take on Uhura, I couldn’t leave the interview without asking about the announced Star Trek 4 and her excitement for returning to the Enterprise.
“I’m excited,” she said. “I just hope they they’re able to make the schedules work. There’s a lot of moving pieces that are coming together, but I am excited about getting to see everybody again. I’m get to get back on the Enterprise and yeah. And I’m excited to see my friends.”
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The Adam Project drops on Netflix on March 11 and is an exciting ride. You just … might sob through it.
(image: Netflix)
