Black Adam star Sarah Shahi has opened up about how playing Adrianna Tomaz has helped her celebrate her culture.
In the Shazam! spinoff, Shahi – recently seen in Netflix's Sex/Life – plays a fearless archaeologist opposite Dwayne Johnson's titular antihero.
"I myself am Persian and it's a privilege to play Adrianna," Shahi told Digital Spy in an exclusive chat.
"It's a privilege to play the common person, a woman fighting for change who's on the ground and her only superpower is her heart and how brave she is."
Related: Black Adam's Noah Centineo responds to Deadpool comparisons
Despite admitting to not being a comic book fan, Shahi was able to find other inspirations to channel the character, namely Lara Croft and Indiana Jones.
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"I didn't really dive into the comics too much. For me, growing up, I was never really a comic book kid. I couldn't really see myself in any of Wonder Woman or Supergirl, I couldn't relate," she said.
"I was Middle Eastern living in Texas, I had a unibrow, nobody could pronounce my name (her real name is Aahoo Jahansouzshahi), so it was just an unattainable thing for me."
She and Black Adam director Jaume Collet-Serra "really spoke about the character and about how she was a mix between Lara Croft and Indiana Jones, and how she becomes the Black Adam whisperer halfway through".
Related: Black Adam cast reveal DC crossovers they want to see
"I really wanted to be able to tell the highest degree of truth in terms of the script and what we were creating," the star added.
The admiration for Indiana Jones goes way back for Shahi, who explained the character was among her most beloved heroes when she was younger.
"I always, as a kid, I would play make-believe and honestly Indiana Jones was one of my favourite movies when I was a little girl. I would constantly reenact Indiana Jones from my point of view."
Black Adam is set for release in cinemas on October 21.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
