Although Zoe Saldana has starred in some of the biggest blockbusters in movie history, she still has a hard time getting auditions — and it’s not because of her talent.

“I think it has a lot to do with race,” Saldana, 39, told PorterEdit in an interview released Friday. “‘Color doesn’t sell’ – they hide behind that excuse. But in reality, if you are in a position of leadership, that means that you have the responsibility to guide the narrative and re-shape it and put it on the right track. When you’re not setting that trend, then you are no different than the shackles that are binding you.”

The “Avengers: Infinity War” star explained that the issue was even more of a hindrance earlier in her career

“Every time I read a script, even if it was a period piece, I read it thinking that I was going to go after the lead role,” she said. “It wasn’t until I would come across the introduction of a supporting ethnic role that I realized, ‘Oh.’ I wasn’t even allowed to try to get that main role, because ‘they want to go traditional on the part.’ … It was a very hard pill to swallow.”

“In my country, where I pledged allegiance every day since I was five, to be told when I’m out there trying to pursue my American dream that I was not a traditional American was very hurtful,” she continued. “I will never accept that I am not a traditional anything. I come from where I come from, I can’t change that, and you come from where you come from. But if you tell me that where you come from is the only right place, and therefore I don’t fit that traditional mold, let’s just establish, very clearly, that you are the one who’s wrong. Because everything about me and where I come from is just as right.”

That said, the actress hasn’t always been seen as the right choice for roles of color either.

In 2016, Saldana came under criticism after she was cast as Nina Simone, whose complexion was significantly darker than that of the Puerto Rican and Dominican actress. She wore a prosthetic nose and was accused of using blackface to darken her skin for the part.

Simone Kelly, the singer’s daughter, said of Saldana’s casting, “My mother was raised at a time when she was told her nose was too wide, her skin was too dark. Appearance-wise this is not the best choice.”

Saldana herself previously admitted, “I didn’t think I was right for the part, and I know a lot people will agree, but then again, I don’t think Elizabeth Taylor was right for Cleopatra either.”