NZ exclusive: Zoe Saldana on Live By Night

Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy) plays the attractive Graciela in Live By Night, and she shares with Remix some of her thoughts about the film.  

Live By Night is a gangster-thriller, written, directed and starred in by Ben Affleck (Dazed and Confused, Gone Girl). ‘When I read the script,’ Zoe told Remix, ‘I thought there was a real integrity to the way Ben chose to tell this story. He’s shedding some light on the struggles so many people were going through during this era.’

The film, set in the Prohibition era of the 1920s, is about the dark journey Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) who embarks upon as a criminal gone rogue. ‘Joe is such a screw-up,’ laughed Zoe. ‘You witness all the mistakes he makes in life, but, like Graciela, you also see him regretting it and looking for some kind of redemption.’

‘I find myself feeling for Joe,’ she added, ‘and Ben did such a beautiful job bringing that journey to life.’

Affleck is certainly the one who should take the credit for this film, and when asked about working with Ben as an actor and director, Zoe sang his praises, saying: ‘Ben makes you feel very safe,’ she said. ‘At first, I thought it must be so hard to direct and also star in the piece that you’re building because your mind is probably divided in so many different ways, but Ben handled it all with grace and intelligence.’

Image credits: Village Roadshow Films