Zoe Saldana was told to change her name at the start of her career

Zoe Saldana has revealed she was encouraged to change her name and take on a stage name to help launch her acting career.

But the 43-year-old actor stuck to her guns and kept her own title, despite the words of advice.

Zoe is best known for playing the role of Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, but she landed her big break in her first film in Center Stage in 2000.

She shared the advice given ahead of her taking on the role to Screenrant: "When I did Center Stage, I remember being discouraged by my management at that time to use my name.

"But their intention was never for me to stop being who I am. They celebrated who I was. But 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.

"But I still knew that I liked my name."

Zoe boasts an impressive career so far, having also starred in Avatar, Star Trek, as well as Crossroads, Pirates of the Caribbean and many more.

But the award-winning actor never would have believed she would be so successful, as she used to be "so nervous" when she first started out on the big screen.

Asked what advice she would give her younger self, Zoe said: "Don't be so nervous. I remember at that time, I was just so nervous because I was getting to do these projects for the very first time, and I was getting to travel to these places for the very first time. So there was a lot of nervousness that I felt, and always having to cover that up to look like I've been here before. But I would just tell her, 'Don't be so nervous. You belong.'"