Avatar Star In New Film "Colombiana"

MIAMI (CBS4) – For "Avatar" heroine Zoe Saldana revenge takes center stage in the new action thriller Colombiana.

Saldana plays Cataleya, a woman who grew up to be an assassin after witnessing her parent's murder as a child.

Her only goal is to hunt down the people who killed her mother and father.

Saldana said digging deep  to find her character's incomprehensible sadness was the biggest challenge,

"She lives in constant mourning, so that to me is what attracted me the most," Saldana said. "It's an intense thing and I'm such a pacifist, so I really wanted to test myself and play a character I've never played before."

A former ballet dancer, Saldana is no stranger to physicality when it comes to movie making. Her role as "Neytiri" in "Avatar" showed off her athletic side.

In this film, she's a combination street fighter and martial arts expert which allowed her to use old and new techniques.

"I had to learn different weapons (and) master them," said Saldana.

Colombiana is written and produced by Luc Besson, writer of The Fifth Element, who spotted Saldana in Avatar and had to have her in the film.

"To hear him say he wanted to meet me and that he saw Avatar - It blew me away - and that he wanted me to read the script, that's when I realized all the hard work pays off," Saldana said.

Colombiana is rated R and opens in theaters this Friday.