Every film has characters who make up the heart of the story. In Black Adam, Sarah Shahi and Mohammed Amer play Adrianna and Karim respectively, who are siblings in the film and together care for Adrianna’s son, Amon (Bodhi Sabongui). The trio make up some of the most relatable characters in the story and are certainly important to the development of Black Adam (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) himself.
Senior writer Eli Johnson recently had the opportunity to sit down with Shahi and Amer to discuss their characters and the film overall. Shahi and Amer talked about how much they connected to their characters, with Shahi describing Adrianna as a freedom fighter and saying that she’s a cross between Lara Croft and Indiana Jones. Shahi, who is Persian, said that it’s meaningful for her to play a character who is fighting against oppression. Notably, Shahi explains that she’s never worked on a project with so many Middle Eastern actors saying, “I didn’t know there were so many in the game!”
Amer said that he enjoyed playing a character that’s outside of the box and very different from what he’s used to. He described Karim as a “controlled mess” who is deeply concerned for his family. While Black Adam is an action-packed superhero film, it also has important themes, and Amer said that it’s a universal story about compassion, empathy and understanding.
Watch the full interview below and check out Shahi and Amer in Black Adam premiering in theaters October 21, 2022!
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THE WORLD NEEDED A HERO… IT GOT BLACK ADAM
From New Line Cinema, Dwayne Johnson stars in the action adventure “Black Adam.” The first-ever feature film to explore the story of the DC Super Hero comes to the big screen under the direction of Jaume Collet-Serra (“Jungle Cruise”).
In ancient Kahndaq, Teth Adam was bestowed the almighty powers of the gods. After using these powers for vengeance, he was imprisoned, becoming Black Adam. Nearly 5,000 years have passed and Black Adam has gone from man, to myth, to legend. Now released, his unique form of justice, born out of rage, is challenged by modern day heroes who form the Justice Society: Hawkman, Dr. Fate, Atom Smasher and Cyclone.
Johnson stars alongside Aldis Hodge (“City on a Hill,” “One Night in Miami”) as Hawkman, Noah Centineo (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) as Atom Smasher, Sarah Shahi (“Sex/Life,” “Rush Hour 3”), Marwan Kenzari (“Murder on the Orient Express,” “The Mummy”), Quintessa Swindell (“Voyagers,” “Trinkets”) as Cyclone, Mo Amer (“Mo,” “Ramy”), Bodhi Sabongui (“A Million Little Things”), and Pierce Brosnan (the “Mamma Mia!” and James Bond franchises) as Dr. Fate.
Collet-Serra directed from a screenplay written by Adam Sztykiel and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, based on characters from DC, based on characters created by Bill Parker and C.C. Beck. The film’s producers are Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia, with Toby Emmerich, Richard Brener, Dave Neustadter, Chris Pan, Walter Hamada, Adam Schlagman, Geoff Johns, Eric McLeod and Scott Sheldon executive producing.
The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes Oscar-nominated director of photography Lawrence Sher (“Joker”), production designer Tom Meyer (“Real Steel”), editors Mike Sale (“Red Notice,” “Skyscraper”) and John Lee (“Anyone Home?”), costume designers Kurt and Bart (“Deadpool 2,” “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 & 2”), Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer (“Life of Pi,” “Wonder Woman”), and composer Lorne Balfe (“Black Widow”).
New Line Cinema Presents a Seven Bucks/Flynn Co. Production, A Jaume Collet-Serra Film, “Black Adam,” smashing into theaters and IMAX internationally beginning 19 October 2022, in North America on October 21, 2022. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Ron is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture. He is a big believer in the power and impact of pop culture and the importance of representation in media.
