The 33-year-old beauty began her career as a ballet dancer, but decided she should give Hollywood a shot when she realised she had peaked at her first love and wouldn`t get any better.
She said: "Dancing was my passion for so many years and then one day I realised that I wasn`t going to be as good as I wanted to be. I felt that my body had reached its potential. I wasn`t OK with just being in the corps.
"But I knew that I wanted to continue exploring the arts."
However, it wasn`t acting in particular she was fascinated by, but simply by the idea of using her voice.
In an interview with Empire magazine, she said: "Acting was something I was curious about, because when I was dancing I felt something was missing.
"I realised it was my voice - I loved using my voice - so I stared acting in theatre."
Movie roles were steady from 2000, but it was only in 2009 she hit the big time with major roles in `Star Trek` and `Avatar`, and she admits it took time to sink in she had made it.
She said: "Months went by after the Oscars and while prepping for `Columbiana` it kind of sunk in. It started with `Star Trek` and culminated in `Avatar` and the fact that both those films were so well received, globally. I just felt very overwhelmed."
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