How Zendaya Really Feels About Turning 30 Soon

Zendaya is not exactly feeling euphoric about turning 30 in a few years.

In fact, the 27-year-old—who has been acting since she was a tween—exclusively told E! News' Will Marfuggi that it's quite the "scary" thought. 

"I'm further away from 18 than I am to 30," Zendaya shared in a joint interview with her Challengers costars Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist. "And then when that happens, you're like, "Oh s--t, life is going fast." 

However, the Disney Channel alum noted that she's "grateful for life" and to be able to keep doing what she loves after all these years, including playing complicated characters on screen.

For instance, take the role of Tashi Duncan in Challengers, a former tennis prodigy who becomes a coach after a career-ending injury. Not only did Zendaya overcome the hurdle of "sucking at tennis" to play the part, but the actress also had to tap into a different mindset. (To catch Zendaya's full interview, tune into E! News tonight, April 22, at 11 p.m.)

"My entry point became grief and loss of a career that she wanted," Zendaya shared of her character, who gets caught up in a love triangle between two other tennis players. "While I don't think that that specific thing has happened to me, I have dealt with grief before in many different ways." 

She continued, "I'm happiest when I'm on a set, so this idea of it being taken away would be devastating. I couldn't imagine mentally how that would affect me as a human being and how I would show up in the world." 

Zendaya added that her own mom, Claire Stoermer, also had varying opinions about the Tashi character, joking that she was "arguing me down about it" after the movie's ambiguous ending.

So, did Zendaya win the argument? As she put it with a laugh, "Absolutely not."

Challengers hits theaters April 26.

To see Zendaya through the years, keep reading.