WASHINGTON: Hollywood actor Zoe Saldana, in a recent interview, has revealed that she was once advised to go adopt a stage name when she first became an actor.
Saldana told Entertainment Weekly that during the early days in her career, around the time she landed her first major acting role in 'Center Stage', she was told it would benefit her career to change her name.
"When I did Center Stage, I remember being discouraged by my management at that time to use my name," said Saldana.
The actor further stressed that her team was not trying to be malicious at the time and said, "But their intention was never for me to stop being who I am. They celebrated who I was."
"But my manager at the time was a former singer and a ballroom performer, and she did change her name as well when she was a teenager back in the '60s, I believe. And she said it's what everybody does," Saldana continued.
As per Entertainment Weekly, she added, "That today is advice we consider poor, but that was her doing the best that she wanted for me. But I still knew that I liked my name."
Today, the 43-year-old actor stars in some of the biggest film franchises out there, including 'Star Trek', 'Avatar' and Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy'.