Zoe Saldana's childhood Halloween costumes: Ripley and Sarah Connor

It's been an amazing 12 months for Zoe Saldana.  First, she reinvented the iconic Starfleet officer Nyota Uhura in J.J. Abrams' blockbuster "Star Trek" and then found herself giving possibly the greatest motion capture performance of all time in James Cameron's worldwide phenomenon "Avatar."  And things aren't slowing down any time soon.  This month Saldana stars in two new films: the ensemble comedy "Death at a Funeral" and the action thriller "The Losers."  The 32-year-old actress trekked up to San Francisco's WonderCon this past weekend to help promote "Losers" with co-stars Chris Evans, Columbus Short and Jeffrey Dean Morgan and she revealed some insights that might explain how she's handled such action-packed roles so comfortably in her career.

Speaking to HitFix, Saldana disclosed that as a child she always wanted to be Ellen Ripley, Sarah Connor or a ninja for Halloween.  Playing such iconic female roles is important to Saldana who notes, "I just want to follow in their footsteps." 

It also appears Saldana's newfound global fame hasn't ruined her ability to venture out in the world.  She jokes she isn't going to hit the mall anytime soon, but is happy to have her privacy in check -- for now.

To find out how "The Losers" and "Avatar" connect for Saldana you can watch the complete interview embedded in this story or for a larger version, click here.

"The Losers" opens nationwide on April 23.