Photo courtesy of Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Rex/Shutt 

The first time Zoe Saldana saw the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where on May 3 she’ll be awarded her own plaque, the ground moved. Saldana, then a 20-year-old ballerina from Queens, was visiting Los Angeles with a theater troupe of kids from all five boroughs who wrote and performed skits about guns and gangs. At 1 a.m., they slipped out of their hotel to see the stars.

“We were inner-city kids and obviously you’re looking for, like, Arnold Schwarzenegger,” laughs Saldana from her now-permanent home in L.A. on an early morning when, for once, she’s not on set. They walked the streets for two hours talking about their futures.

“‘Oh my God, we’re here! Our dreams are possible!” beams Saldana, “and then, ‘What was that!?’” An earthquake.

“I’m a first-generation Latino and part of my culture is super superstitious. We rely on signs,” says Saldana. “If I would have followed in the footsteps of my forefathers and foremothers, I think I would have taken that as a sign and become a dentist or a psychologist. But thank God I decided to ignore it and pursue my dreams of becoming an actress.”

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