Zoe Saldaña recently spoke to The Independent about how the Oscars and other awards bodies struggle to look past all the digital wizardry that goes into her “Avatar” performances. Saldaña plays Neytiri via motion capture in the James Cameron-directed franchise. While the character is a tall blue alien on screen, all of her body movements and facial expressions come directly from Saldaña.

While the actor has earned acclaim for her work in the “Avatar” films, the Oscars have long ignored performances done in motion capture, such as those from Andy Serkis, who has been lauded for his acting as Gollum in “The Lord of Rings” and Caesar in “Planet of the Apes.”

“Old habits die hard, and when you have old establishments, it’s really hard to bring forward change,” Saldaña said on the topic. “And I understand that, so I’m not bitter about it, but it is...