Zendaya says she has dreams of directing a movie and cites Angelina Jolie as her inspiration

If you’ve been paying attention to Zendaya (Euphoria, Dune: Part 2) over the last few years, you probably know that the young actress and producer is a force to be reckoned with. A two-time Emmy winner (and the youngest actress ever to win twice), she’s already got her sights on what she plans for the future of her career: directing a movie.

That reveal came during a roundtable that The Hollywood Reporter set up for the Oscar frontrunners, which aside from Zendaya included Zoe Saldaña (Emilia Perez), Mikey Madison (Anora), Tilda Swinton (The Room Next Door), Demi Moore (The Substance) and Angelina Jolie (Maria). They all got to talk about their experience on sets and, during the conversation, Zendaya revealed that she’s interested in contributing to a project with more than her acting.

“That’s what we were just talking about with directing, because I would love to direct one day and you’ve been able to do it — and in a beautiful way. Something that makes me so nervous is [directing], and [Jolie, before] was like, ‘but there are people to help you.’ There are these gorgeous teams of people that we get to work with that create just as much as we do, the characters that we play.”

Jolie has ventured into the world of directing a handful of times and was met with praise in titles like Unbroken (which was nominated for 3 Oscars), First They Killed My Father (nominated at the BAFTAs) and In The Land of Blood and Honey (nominated at the Golden Globes). During the interview, Jolie had some words of wisdom about directing.

“I was always an actress that loved the crew and understood I was a piece of a whole. But after being a director, you are much more aware of all the pieces and all the needs, and you are very conscious that an actor is important, but a piece.” Jolie added that her way to deal with actors when directing is to “push them and I root for them.”

Even though Zendaya’s directing effort may take a while to come to fruition, the actress already found ways to have her voice heard in the sets. She became an executive producer of her HBO series Euphoria and also co-produced the Luca Guadagnino sports drama Challengers. This means that she has a say about what goes on in terms of story and can offer inputs in several aspects of production — something that actors who aren’t also producers aren’t always allowed to do.

Zendaya did reveal that it was a “scary” process, though. Challengers marks her first role as a leading lady on the silver screen, and she had to find a way to deal with that pressure. One way might have been with the help of her boyfriend Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home), who recently commented that he’s incredibly supportive and revealed why he doesn’t always walk the red carpet beside her.

Zendaya and Holland met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming, and as long as the franchise keeps going, they’ll be able to mix their dating life and work life together by continuing to play onscreen lovebirds Peter Parker and MJ. The next installment of the blockbuster, Spider-Man 4, is slated to hit theaters July 24th, 2026. This means that Zendaya and Holland will head to work together — but in separate cars — on the Marvel Studios set at some point this year when filming begins. The Oscar nominees will be announced on January 17.