Playing Nina Simone was a huge responsibility: Zoe Saldana

London: Actress Zoe Saldana has admitted that she felt a lot of responsibility for accurately portraying Nina Simone in biopic 'Nina'.

Saldana, 35, portrays the late jazz legend in the upcoming biopic and is facing criticism for not looking enough like the singer, who passed away in 2003 aged 70, reportedly.

"I felt a huge responsibility and a lot of pressure to be true to her, to respect her legacy because she was real and so iconic and one of the most beautiful women to walk this earth.

"So in a way it was a difficult role for me. It was heartbreaking at times as it demanded a lot of emotional work and some days and becoming this person; to walk in her shoes was sometimes not a happy place to be," she said.