Nicole Kidman’s set behaviour branded ‘freaky’ by co-star Zoe Saldaña

Star of Guardians of the Galaxy and Avatar, Zoe Saldaña is set to star in a new highly anticipated series, Special Ops: Lioness. 

And she isn’t the only big name involved in the project, Nicole Kidman also co-stars and will be co-executive producer alongside Zoe on the Paramount Plus series. 

In an interview with Radio Times, Zoe has branded Nicole’s behaviour on set as being “freaky”. 

The 45-year-old actress was asked what it was like working with Nicole and told the magazine: “She’s exactly what I imagined and hoped she would be. She’s dedicated, she’s the most prepared on set, knows all her lines.

“She stays in character sometimes and it’s a bit freaky.”

In the series, Zoe plays the role of Joe, a station chief of the program who once served undercover but now oversees the next generation of operatives. 

The series follows her character as it shows how her duties can come at a cost leaving her struggling to balance her work and family life. 

Talking about the similarities with her character, Zoe also said: “There is something very parallel to me in Joe, working full time for something she is devoted to, having to balance family life and carry it all.

“I was able to relate to the pressure, the pain you live with missing your family when you have to be away for 14 hours straight, and feeling guilty for loving what you do.”

Zoe also spoke out about how she’s enjoyed a certain element of anonymity thanks to the characters she has played in both the Marvel and Avatar movies being disguised with heavy makeup. 

But this new TV series will put her firmly in the limelight. 

Musing about what prompted her to make the move to TV, she said: “My ignorant mind feared it. I felt it would be accepting my fate, saying, ‘My youth is done, I’m a woman in my 40s, I’m no longer sexy’, but that’s not the case.

“My manager told me, ‘You need to understand the market. You need to go where good content is, whether that’s a big screen, on stage or on TV’.”

She also discussed returning to her role in Avatar where she confirmed that she has signed up to star in future instalments of the blockbuster franchise. 

This comes as James Cameron has revealed he plans to make at least seven more films in the series. 

She also described James as a “pussycat” and compared him to being like a fine wine, where he gets better with age. 

Special Ops: Lioness will stream on Paramount Plus from July 23.

You can read Zoe’s full interview in this week’s Radio Times.