‘Superman' Breakout Sara Sampaio Explains How She Captured Cinema's Most Consequential Selfies

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2 days ago

[This story contains spoilers for (2025).]
Superman breakout Sara Sampaio knew that her Eve Teschmacher character would be misjudged until she wasn't.
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When the official trailer for James Gunn's Superman arrived, the Portuguese actor understood why viewers questioned her character's decision to take selfies of a nearby attack on Metropolis. We now know that she was in the LutherCorp control room that was orchestrating said attack and that she was never in any imminent danger herself, but the inappropriateness of the act still stands given the danger to those citizens caught in the crosshairs of Lex Luthor's (Nicholas Hoult) nefarious scheme.
Sampaio admits that Eve's selfie-obsessed manner is heightened for comedic effect, but the behavior is very much rooted in reality. She acknowledges that we live in a time where influencers staged photo ops for themselves during 2020's various protests before going straight home. In Poland, the Auschwitz Museum routinely pleads with visitors to stop taking selfies on the grounds where 1.1 million people were killed. When the entire global population has a camera in their pocket, lines of decency are inevitably going to be crossed.
Overall, Eve's selfie fixation wasn't solely geared toward the vanity of social media. She was also protecting herself if/when she became another imprisoned ex-girlfriend of Lex Luthor. As a result, she exposed Lex's plot to manufacture a foreign war in the name of destroying Superman.
'Everyone underestimated Eve [from the start]: 'What is she even doing in the movie? Why is she taking selfies? This is so stupid,'' Sampaio recalls to The Hollywood Reporter. 'And now everyone is like, 'Oh!' She saves the day at the end, and it's a brilliant way of showing how humans and characters are not just one thing.'
As a highly accomplished supermodel turned actor, Sampaio has likely faced similar forms of judgment while working tirelessly the last seven years toward pursuing her original dream.
'Modeling was never really the plan. I've just always wanted to act,' Sampaio says. 'And while I'm so thankful for the opportunity that I had with modeling, I just always felt that it wouldn't fulfill me. So acting was always in the back of my mind, but I wanted to do it well, and I didn't have time to go to classes [due to modeling]. That's when I had to make that decision to take a step back and focus on acting.'
While Gunn was watching self-tapes for Eve Teschmacher, it was his wife, Jennifer Holland, who saw something in Sampaio and urged her husband to give her a closer look.
'At the premiere, I told Jennifer that I wouldn't be there if it wasn't for her pointing out my self-tape to James. I'm so thankful to her,' Sampaio says.
Below, during a recent spoiler conversation with THR, Sampaio also discusses the process of taking a thousand selfies across her 20 days on set, as well as some deleted moments from the Fortress of Solitude sequence.
***
Between the opening weekend box office and the reception from audiences, you likely had a very exciting past weekend. Was there a cast group chat to react to it all?
Yes, we have a group chat that's called the 'Superman Gang.' The whole group chat is just us bullying Beck [Bennett]. (Laughs.) He can take it. But it's been very active this weekend; everyone is just really excited.
You already had a very successful modeling career, but in 2018, you moved to L.A. to give acting a shot. Did you feel like you needed a new challenge in your life?
Modeling was never really the plan. I've just always wanted to act. Even when I was going to [University of Lisbon], I wanted to study acting, but my parents convinced me to get a 'normal' degree. I then started modeling, and so I didn't do either. And while I'm so thankful for the opportunity that I had with modeling, I just always felt that it wouldn't fulfill me. There was something missing. So acting was always in the back of my mind, but I wanted to do it well, and I didn't have time to go to classes [due to modeling]. That's when I had to make that decision to take a step back and focus on acting. I was like, 'Whatever happens, happens. But if I don't try now, I'll never do it.'
You eventually made a self-tape for what you knew was , and James Gunn's wife, Jennifer Holland, was actually the one who pointed you out to him.
At the premiere, I told Jennifer that I wouldn't be there if it wasn't for her pointing out my self-tape to James. I'm so thankful to her.
How confident were you going into the screen test?
I was insanely nervous. It was Superman and a role that I obviously loved. I started acting and doing auditions when everything went to self-tape and Zoom [during the pandemic]. So I haven't had a lot of opportunities to be in the room, and I didn't know what to expect. But because the character is already so all over the place, I just put that energy into the character. My mentality going into it was like, 'Do your best, present your version and have fun. It's incredible you get to even have this opportunity to do a chemistry read in front of James Gunn.' So I wasn't expecting anything, and I tried to not put too much pressure on it. I was just really grateful for the opportunity.
Did you read with both Nick Hoult and Skyler Gisondo?
It was just me and Skyler. Most of my scenes are with Skyler, and we had a lot of fun.
But you and Nick had already been acquainted with one another through an Armani campaign years earlier?
Yeah, we were both under contract with Armani at the same time, so we would always see each other out and about. So knowing that he got cast as Lex Luthor, I was like, 'Okay, at least I have someone in the cast that I know.' Nick is the nicest guy ever, and I knew that if I was feeling overwhelmed, I could ask him for advice or anything like that. But everyone in the cast ended up being so amazing, and they really just made me feel at home.
There are lots of Eve Teschmachers in the world today. Did you base your performance on anyone in particular?
I didn't base her on anyone in particular, but there's definitely parts of me in her. I'm sure there are parts of my friends in her as well. I was also inspired by Harley Quinn and the original Eve Teschmacher [Valerie Perrine] from the Richard Donner Superman movies. Both characters are seen as sex symbols in a way, but they also have this endearing quality that I really did not want to lose. So I really wanted to really make her grounded and believable.
Between you and 's Daniela Melchior, James has had good luck with Portuguese actors. Did he ever set up a call between the two of you?
Portugal's industry is not very big, so I actually knew Daniela already, and we have a lot of friends in common. I'm always so happy to see Portuguese talent succeed in anything, really, so I reached out to her and offered my congratulations when she got the role. We've kind of become friends, but I don't see her as often because she lives in Portugal.
Jimmy and Lex are polar opposites. One has a full head of hair; the other is bald. One is on the shorter side; the other is very tall. One makes a modest living as a journalist; the other is a billionaire. What do you make of Eve's wide net?
(Laughs.) I don't think Eve is someone who's used to hearing the word no a lot. She's used to getting what she wants. Lex is powerful, rich and handsome, and he offers this lifestyle and security that she's not super accustomed to. Above all else, security is what she craves the most, and Lex provides that for her. But knowing what he's done to all his ex-girlfriends, she has to make sure she ends up okay [by taking incriminating selfies].
But Jimmy was probably the first man to say no to her. So in her mind, she's like, 'What do you mean you don't want to be with me? Everyone wants to be with me. Now I really have to have you. I want you even more because you don't want to be with me.' It's an obsessive mentality involving conquest and cat-and-mouse games.
When the first shot of Eve came out, some people wondered why she would take a selfie during an attack, but that type of behavior feels so authentic to me now. People take selfies in every situation imaginable, no matter how inappropriate. Even during the protests in 2020, influencers staged photo ops for themselves before they got back in their cars to go home. Did Eve's behavior always feel believable to you despite being a bit exaggerated?
A hundred percent. She's obviously a comedic character in the movie, but James kept saying to me that she has to feel grounded. She has to feel like a real person. And what you said is true [about influencers staging photos during protests]. So Eve is also not aware of what is inappropriate. For her, it's just a great photo that would get so many likes. Her mind is more focused on what will do well on social media. She has that kind of self-obsessed thinking. But at the same time, she's not dumb, and she uses that to her own advantage.
If you had to guess, how many total selfies did you take on set?
I had a set phone to use as my character's phone, and I had to take selfies the whole time. So I think I took over a thousand photos, and while we shot for seven months, I was only on set for maybe 20 days. So that's a lot of selfies in that time. I keep saying that I need to get that phone back. There were some funny ones in there, for sure.
Were you able to snap a few selfies on set with your own phone?
Yeah, I took a few. I should have just AirDropped [the selfies from Eve's phone] to my phone, but I have a few that I took with my phone. I'll probably start posting them on my Instagram.
Did James compose some of her selfies with the same detail as all the other shots in the movie? Or did you get to lead a lot of them?
It was a little bit of both. There were a few selfies that had to be very specific. You had to see certain things in the background on purpose. There is one with Eve and 'Mr. Handsome.' He's the weird-looking alien that drives the [transport vehicle] in the pocket universe. We called him Mr. Handsome because he's anything but handsome. But there's this photo where Eve is on his lap, and that was just fun to do. Of course, Eve would take a selfie with him and think it's the coolest thing ever. So some of the selfies were very organic, and some needed to be very specific, so James was there to guide me.
If people catch you taking selfies in public, they're inevitably going to compare you to Eve. Do you think you'll be taking a lot less of them now?
(Laughs.) I really don't take many selfies in the wild, and after this movie, I don't know if I want to take a selfie anytime soon. Since they started that Instagram, 'Influencers in the Wild,' I'm scared of showing up on it; Eve would a hundred percent be on it. But if anyone wants to take a selfie with me, I'll happily do that. It's part of the character, and I'm so happy people are embracing her and her selfies.
I also hope people take from this character that she's more than an influencer and some vapid person. Smart people can enjoy pink and bedazzled clothes. Humans are complex. If you look at Lex, his reasons [for being scared of Superman] are valid in a way, but the way he goes about it is completely wrong. And to somehow end up feeling a bit of empathy for the biggest villain of all, that's all James' incredible writing.
Everyone underestimated Eve [from the start]: 'What is she even doing in the movie? Why is she taking selfies? This is so stupid.' And now everyone is like, 'Oh!' She saves the day at the end, and it's a brilliant way of showing how humans and characters are not just one thing.
Yeah, I've seen two types of reactions to Eve. Some people are calling her the MVP/hero of the movie, while others believe that the movie is mean to her. But I keep coming back to Lois' quote to Jimmy: 'Your hot ex is a genius.' Eve played a huge role in taking down Lex and vindicating Superman. So how do you view the movie's treatment of her?
I keep joking that everyone yells at Eve the whole time, and while she does do stupid things that make no sense in the moment, it was all to show the duality of people. Eve was taking selfies when she shouldn't be, but she was wisely taking care of herself at the same time. And by taking care of herself, she ended up saving the day for everyone. She used her tools and what people think of her to her own advantage. That's kind of genius. She's still an intense character who loves attention, and it was too much for someone like Jimmy.
Jimmy named Eve 'Mutant Toes' in his phone. I know it was just him being a jerk, but did you ever ask James if she's potentially a metahuman?
I asked James, 'What do you mean by 'Mutant Toes'?' And he was like, 'Oh, he's just being an asshole to her. He's trying to find any excuse to not like her. He doesn't like her.' And I was like, 'Okay, that makes sense because I have pretty feet.' (Laughs.) And he was like, 'He is just being a jerk.' So Jimmy is sick of Eve, and he's creating defects that don't exist just to make himself feel better about not liking her.
Eve is taller than Jimmy, and at the end, she has to jump on him while wearing these huge platform heels. Was that tricky to pull off?
(Laughs.) ​​I keep joking that I did my own stunts. Everyone had stunt doubles to do all their hard stunts, but that was all me running in those big heels. But because they were platform shoes, it wasn't as bad. There's also this gag that she's supposed to run weirdly, and it's because she's always wearing very tight dresses and very high heels. So she has to do little penguin steps to move fast, and I was mostly just trying to not fall down.
You previously said that there's a deleted moment in which Ultraman punches Krypto. Was that during the Fortress of Solitude scene?
I didn't expect that to go so crazy [viral], but yeah, that was during the Fortress of Solitude scene. There comes a point where you don't want to do things just to shock people, and James made the best decision for the movie.
Is there anything else involving Eve that didn't make the cut?
Not much. While I was walking towards the Fortress of Solitude, I did one little beat where I saw this monster on the snow that Krypto killed. And I, as Eve, was like, 'Ooh!' I then took a photo with it, but that didn't make it into the movie. Little things have to be cut for time, especially if they don't really inform the story. But from reading the script to seeing the movie, I don't remember much being cut, to be honest.
Decades from now, when you're reminiscing about this experience, what day from will you likely recall first?
It would probably be my first day on set with James and these incredible actors. We were shooting in Svalbard for the Fortress of Solitude [exterior], and it was the most insane location. It was me and Nick's first day of filming, and Gabby [de Faria] and David [Corenswet] were there. I almost forgot my line during my first take; I was just so overwhelmed and so nervous. I was like, 'Calm down. You've got this,' before we did it again. From how nervous I was, to how beautiful the location was and how much fun we all had, I'll have that in my brain forever. I was just really happy, and that was the moment where I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.
***Superman (2025) is now playing in movie theaters nationwide.
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