Zoe Saldaña claims former manager 'discouraged' her from using real name

Zoe Saldaña has claimed a former manager once advised her not to use her real name.

During an interview for Entertainment Weekly, the actress recalled how one of her first acting agents suggested she adopt a stage name around the time she was making her Hollywood debut in the 2000 dance movie Center Stage.

"When I did Center Stage, I remember being discouraged by my management at that time to use my name," she commented, before clarifying: "But their intention was never for me to stop being who I was. They celebrated who I was."

Zoe then speculated why she may have been told to change her moniker.

"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," the 43-year-old continued. "That was her doing the best that she wanted for me, but I still knew that I liked my name."

In the interview, Zoe also noted that she received very different advice from Steven Spielberg on the subject.

"In order for you to know where you're going, you must always know where you came from," she recounted the legendary filmmaker telling her.

Zoe's latest film, The Adam Project, is now streaming on Netflix.