Quick Links

It's really no surprise that Dwayne Johnson went to extreme lengths to get his body in tip-top shape for Black Adam. The 2022 DC film may be deemed 'the worst movie of the decade', but there's no doubt that Dwayne almost certainly looks the part. Many would even say he was perfectly cast.

The same is true for Sarah Shahi. While isn't a superhero in the film (at least not yet), she is certainly ideal for the role of Adrianna Tomaz, a freedom fighter and Kahndaqi professor.

Despite being in a movie filled to the brim with characters and A-listers, Sarah gets a lot of time to shine. However, she actually received far less screen time with the movie's biggest star than she hoped for. Here's why...

What Is Sarah Shahi And Dwayne Johnson's Relationship?

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sarah Shahi went into detail about her relationship with the charismatic A-lister that leads 2022's Black Adam. Sarah, who stars in Sex/Life and is known for roles on The L Word and HBO's The Sopranos, was quick to fall for Dwayne Johnson's charm.

"When I first met him, I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know what to call him. My best friend also happens to be his stylist, so I had heard some really awesome stories about him, but I just didn’t know what to expect," Sarah Shahi explained to The Hollywood Reporter.

Not unlike others who meet Dwayne for the first time, Sarah was unsure of what to call him. Is it Dwayne? Mr. Johnson? The Rock?

"[He said] 'Daddy.' And I just started laughing. I was like, 'Holy s***. That’s awesome.' He’s funny. He makes you feel comfortable," Sarah said. "When he engages with you, he truly makes you feel like you’re the only person in the room. He gives you full eye contact, and that’s rare for people in this business to do."

Related: How Sarah Shahi Really Felt About Working With Dwayne Johnson In Black Adam

Sarah claimed that she was "floored" by Dwayne's physical size. But she was far more impressed with how he worked.

"He is an incredibly detailed actor-producer, and with his portrayal of Black Adam, you don’t feel like you’re watching Dwayne Johnson. You feel like he really is this mythical character that’s come to life," Sarah explained before stating that her favorite thing about the acclaimed actor, philanthropist, businessman, and former wrestler is the fact he makes an effort to allow others to succeed.

"I can’t tell you how many times he would take his lines and give them to another actor who maybe didn’t have as much to do in the scene," Sarah said to The Hollywood Reporter. "We just came out of this world tour where we’d introduce the film, and they’d give him the mic to say something. But then, he’d make sure to pass the mic along to me or [Hawkman actor] Aldis [Hodge] or anybody else. He is so giving of the spotlight because he wants everybody to win, and he acts like it. He’s the most open-hearted person I’ve ever met."

Sarah Shahi Barely Worked With Dwayne Johnson On Black Adam

Despite all of her affection for Dwayne Johnson and the fact that he was the lead actor in Black Adam, Sarah Shahi admitted that she barely worked with him. As pointed out in her interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Sarah ended up filming many of her scenes completely alone.

And these are scenes where other actors are supposed to be present...

Whenever the camera was on her for a close-up, Sarah would be without her co-stars, including Dwayne. They simply weren't present unless they were going to end up in a shot.

"That did surprise me. I come from a little TV world where everyone is there, and they build a schedule in such a way that you don’t have to do the scene by yourself," Sarah explained to The Hollywood Reporter.

"But with something like this, it was such a massive scale, and everybody became so busy, especially toward the end. So you really had to prioritize in terms of what we needed to get [on film] and what we could shoot now that involved everybody. And then at a later time, we would go ahead and get anything that we missed with another unit. So there were a lot of firsts for me on this one."

Related: What Happened Between Steve Howey And Ex-Wife Sarah Shahi?

Sarah went on to explain that there was a scene in Adrianna's apartment that featured numerous other characters. But when they filmed it, no one but her was there. This meant Sarah didn't have anyone to act off of except stand-ins and "tennis balls".

Related: Is Dwayne Johnson Sticking With The DCEU Beyond Black Adam?

"None of the other actors were able to be there because everyone had to go off and do something else," Sarah explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "We had the script supervisor reading all the lines. We had the grips holding up tennis balls in various places, and I did that scene to myself."