(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Zoe Saldana admits that punching people in her new film was "difficult".

The 33-year-old actress portrays Cataleya, a woman who becomes an assassin to avenge the murder of her parents, in her newest film Colombiana. Zoe had to train extensively in martial arts disciplines in order to master combat scenes in her role.

"There were a lot of scenes where I needed to be fighting one-on-one with a lot of people. So [I learned] a combination of martial arts and Krav Maga," Zoe detailed to Moviefone. "This form of fighting was new and interesting and a little difficult, but once we saw it transpire on-screen, we felt that it paid off."

The most difficult part about the fighting scenes were not the violence or Zoe's lack of fitness. Zoe's dance background made her a bit too graceful to hit people at close range.

"I'm more of a dancer, so I can kick and jump up and do all of these things," Zoe explained. "But when you put an opponent three inches away from my face and we have to punch each other out, that's a little hard."

Zoe has appeared in other legendary sci-fi and action films such as Avatar and Star Trek. Trained from childhood through playing with dolls and action figures, Zoe felt very prepared for the battles.

"I was not the conventional little girl. I was a little girl, but I was more in-between," Zoe said. "I was androgynous! I used to love playing G.I. Joe. I used to marry my G.I. Joes to my Barbies."

Colombiana was released in Europe in July and will premiere in the US August 26. (C) Cover Media