Actress Zoe Saldaña calls her Oscar-nominated movie “Emilia Perez” a step into the unknown.

After making her name in franchises such as “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Avatar,” Saldaña wasn’t sure whether she was ready to take such a massive risk on such an unconventional movie.

“The biggest thing I needed to do was to not get in my own way,” Saldaña said.

Saldaña was honored Wednesday during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. She sat down with Scott Feinberg from The Hollywood Reporter for a Q&A about her life and career.

In the movie, Saldaña plays Rita Mora Castro, an overworked attorney in Mexico who is hired by a cartel leader to help them disappear and transition into a woman. The movie, directed by French director Jacques Audiard, is also a musical.

What drew the actress to the role was how different it was and the opportunity to work with Audiard.

“Deep, deep down, it’s about four women, very diverse women, trying to break their own mold and find their most authentic selves — (and) learn to love themselves and find love,” Saldaña said.

She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film.

One of the challenges of the film, Saldaña said, was the language barrier between the actors and the director. The movie is entirely in Spanish, but Audiard does not speak Spanish nor English.

Saldaña joked that some of the communication came through sounds.

During Wednesday’s Q&A, Saldaña also discussed working with different directors and her role in some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood.

In her role as Neytiri for “Avatar,” she said her background as a dancer helped her prepare. Director James Cameron already had an idea of how the alien species, known as Na’vi, moved and talked.

Saldaña explained that she already loved Cameron’s movies and was excited for the opportunity to work with him. One of the things that she loved about his writing was how he wrote female characters.

She explained that even though Cameron has a reputation as an “alpha male,” he is in touch with his feminine side, and there is a sensitive touch to the toughness in his scripts.

“These women don’t feel weak just for the sake of making women weak. These women feel weak because they have a journey, and they have something, a challenge, that they have to overcome,” she said.

Capping off the night was the presentation of the American Riviera Award by actor Rob Lowe. In his speech, Lowe described Saldaña as a trailblazer for her work in pushing for better representation in the movie industry.

He also commended her for her role in “Emilia Perez,” calling it a big swing and a rare film in today’s industry.

“She’s a role model. She’s a passionate advocate for greater representation in Hollywood. She has opened doors, and she has shattered ceilings, and she has inspired so many with her talent, her resilience, her heart,” Lowe said.

After accepting the award, Saldaña thanked her family and friends.

In her speech, she said that the goal of art and film is to allow people to experience other people’s stories and learn from them.

“This film was a great destination for a journey I was interested in taking, which is to answer this,” she said. “Who is worthy of love? Who gets to tell their story? Who gets to live life the way they want? My conclusion: Whoever has the biggest heart.”