Career Overview and Major Filmography
Thandie Newton, born in London, built a career spanning independent cinema and major studio franchises, with a notable role as Maeve Millay in HBO's "Westworld," a series produced by HBO Entertainment and available on the Max streaming platform. Her film credits include "Crash" (2004), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and "Beloved" (1998), directed by Jonathan Demme and adapted from the Toni Morrison novel, as detailed on her IMDb page Thandie Newton Filmography. Zoe Saldana, born in New Jersey to Dominican and Puerto Rican parents, is known for franchise roles including Nyota Uhura in the "Star Trek" reboot series produced by Paramount Pictures and Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with her early career including a regular role on the sitcom "All My Children" before transitioning to film.
Saldana's box office dominance is largely tied to her portrayal of Gamora in the Marvel Studios films "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014), "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017), "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018), and "Avengers: Endgame" (2019), with the latter two produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Her total global box office gross for these four films exceeds $3.5 billion, according to box office tracking data from The Numbers Zoe Saldana Box Office Total. Newton's franchise work includes her role in the "Mission: Impossible" series, where she played Agent Ilsa Faust, a character introduced in "Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation" (2015), produced by Skydance Media and distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Box Office and Award Recognition
Newton's highest-grossing film as a lead is "Mission: Impossible – Fallout" (2018), which earned over $790 million globally, produced by Skydance and Bad Robot and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Her role in the Disney live-action adaptation "The Jungle Book" (2016) added to her cumulative gross, with the film earning over $960 million worldwide. In terms of awards, Newton won the BAFTA for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "Crash" and received an Emmy nomination for her performance in "Westworld," a series created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy for HBO Entertainment.
Saldana's award recognition includes a Teen Choice Award and multiple Saturn Award nominations for her role as Gamora, with the character appearing in four Marvel Studios films. She also starred in "Avatar" (2009), directed by James Cameron and produced by Lightstorm Entertainment, which became the highest-grossing film worldwide at the time of its release, with a global total exceeding $2.9 billion, and its sequel "Avatar: The Way of Water" (2022), which grossed over $2.3 billion globally. Her cumulative box office across major franchises places her among the top-grossing actresses in Hollywood, as tracked by industry sources Zoe Saldana Box Office Mojo.
Production Companies and Business Ventures
Saldana co-founded the production company BESE Entertainment, which focuses on projects by and for the Latino community, with the company developing content for streaming platforms and theatrical release. She has also served as a producer on projects including the animated