Zoe Saldaña has always had Britney Spears’ back over the years. The actress had her breakout role alongside Britney and Taryn Manning in Crossroads, and believe it or not the film is celebrating its 20th anniversary next month. Saldaña talked to E! News, where she reflected on the time spent with Britney on set and how “proud” she is that the singer is “stepping up for herself.”

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Crossroads was released on February 15, 2002, and is still the only feature film Britney has ever starred in. Saldaña was a relatively unknown actress at the time and told E! News, “I was working with Britney Spears when Britney was the biggest thing at that time.”

Everyone watched as Britney fought to end her conservatorship. And while it‘s been a while since she spent time with Britney, Saldaña said, “she was always just a sweet and kind person. She still is. I just have a feeling that she still is.” “She’s so natural and also so down-to-earth, so approachable. I remember all those things,” the 43-year-old recalled.

Now that Britney is free, she has been sharing whatever she wants on social media. Whether it‘s tasteful nudes or rants about her sister Jamie Lynn Spears, it’s her story to tell. “I’m proud of her for stepping up for herself. It‘s amazing,” the Guardians of the Galaxy star added.

The teen drama by Shonda Rhymes told the story of three childhood friends Lucy (Britney Spears), Kit (Zoe Saldaña), and Mimi (Taryn Manning), who rediscover their friendship after eight years apart on a cross country road trip. Saldaña told E! News it would be beautiful if they could get together again one day. “There‘s been nothing but love between all three of us,” she said. “It would be beautiful to sit down and you know, just break bread with all those awesome women and reconnect because it was a good experience.”

It‘s not the first time Saldaña praised Britney. In 2014 she stopped by Watch What Happens Live, and she said she was the one big celebrity that was humble. “I’ve always said this, and I will always continue to say it: She was the one big, big celebrity that I met when I was starting to work in Hollywood who literally was humble, and whatever was going on in her mind there in her world, it was never about hating her neighbor.”

She also defended her against haters who said she used too much Auto-Tune during her Vegas residency. “Well, that’s mean because I’m pretty sure that 80 percent of our musical artists would be mortified if they were caught singing without their own Auto-Tune,” Saldaña said.

As noted by E! Shortly after Saldaña’s 2014 interview, Britney posted a photo with her Crossroads castmates with the caption, “@ZoeSaldana is truly the sweetest. Nothing but great memories of working with her.”

Plus, in 2018 Saldaña told AOL‘s Gibson Johns Britney was a “role model.” “She was a really good role model, and I liked the fact that, when I got to meet her and work with her, I got to know her heart. She’s a really clean-spirited individual that really wishes well for other people. Unfortunately, that was overshadowed by many other things,” the Avatar actor said.