‘Cruel Intentions’ Star Sara Silva Totally Manifested Her Breakout Role

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Just a year ago, in April of 2023, Sara Silva was preparing to audition for Cruel Intentions, a new series adaptation of the novel Dangerous Liaisons inspired by the 1999 hit teen film. “Auditioning for Cruel Intentions reboot and they let me choose which character to read for,” she tweeted at the time. “I didn’t think I was right for any of them, but I chose Cece anyways and looked up Selma Blair in 1999 and WTF, am I not her?” Cut to November of 2024, and the actor is celebrating the release of Cruel Intentions season 1.

Sara plays Cece in the show, a new take on Blair’s character Cecile in the original film. In the show, all the characters have been aged up to their late teens and early twenties, and they rule over Greek life at a small college. Unlike Cecile, Cece is experienced, smart, and determined, but like Cecile she is socially awkward and worships queen bee Caroline (the show’s Kathryn, as played by Sarah Catherine Hook). “I only saw the movie when I got the audition,” Sara tells Cosmopolitan, adding that because of the show’s many differences she didn’t feel pressure to emulate Blair’s 1999 performance. “She is a completely different character.”

Sara opened up to Cosmo about her breakout role, where she sees Cruel Intentions going in a possible season 2, and what she learned about fame from Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox. Spoilers for season 1 ahead!

This is your first major Hollywood role. What was the audition process like for you?

Funny story. They sent me the audition breakdown and were like, Audition for whoever you feel most connected to. And my first instinct was to audition for Caroline because that’s the type I’m most perceived as—the alpha girl—but it said “(White)” next to that character. I think they were originally considering having Sarah Michelle Gellar play Caroline’s mom. So, I couldn’t audition for that.

I honestly didn’t think I was really right for any of the rest of the roles. My manager and I discussed it and thought Cece felt like the most exciting role. So, I chose her and immediately after that I looked up a picture of Selma Blair in 1999. There’s this photo of her where we look so similar—not just facial features, which I do think we kind of share—but her vibe and essence was so me. And I tweeted that picture. I was like, Oh, well, the story about choosing to audition for Cece and then finding this photo. We look so similar. And there’s a timestamp on it that I pretty much called it that I was going to book this role, which is so cool.

Everything aligned. Doing the audition just felt right. You get a lot of auditions that just don’t really feel right, but you’re just like, fuck it, we’ll see. But this came so naturally to me. There was something that felt meant to be about it, for sure.

I saw that tweet! It’s so funny because you wrote that you didn’t feel right for any of the characters, and that’s such a Cece thing to say.

Girl, don’t get me started on this. At first, I didn’t think I was Cece because she’s so insecure and people make fun of her. I didn’t know if they would want to have a conventionally attractive actress in that part. But as I dove deeper into it and started playing her, I realized that I am so similar to her. I am so insecure and I am neurotic. I just hide it really well.

It’s interesting you say that you didn’t want to audition for Caroline because she was designated as white in the audition breakdown, especially because Cece’s own ethnicity isn’t ever explicitly stated in the show. How did you make that decision?

I don’t think I’m the most white passing person, even though technically I’m half Portuguese from my dad’s side. I identify more with my mom’s side—she’s Brazilian. I grew up with my Brazilian family more, and I appear more as Latina or ethnically ambiguous. But I just saw that and I was like, I know what they’re going for, so I’m not going to try for it. But you can totally do that. I know people who are non-white presenting and auditioned for Caroline. I didn’t even consider it because I saw what they wanted for this role. It just didn’t even cross my mind.

But I think it’s cool that there are more opportunities for non-white people these days, and it does add more to the show. Casting and ethnicity is always going to be an interesting thing to navigate. I’m grateful that I got the opportunity to do this show, whereas maybe a few years ago it wouldn’t have been as open.

I want to talk about your character’s relationship with Professor Chadwick, played by Sean Patrick Thomas who was in the original film. What was it like sharing the screen with a member of the OG cast?

I was so honored to be working with him and acting with him because he’s such a legend. He was so kind and wasn’t weird about it at all. He doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder about that. And there was so much trust and comfort there. So working with him was great.

Your scenes together were my favorites.

It allowed Cece to have a bit more independence and you see her growth. It is just a beautiful thing to see her blossom when someone actually appreciates her quirkiness and nerdiness and isn’t making fun of her little idiosyncrasies.

How do you think Cece’s relationship with Professor Chadwick changes her from episode one to the finale?

I think it’s the first time that someone is actually encouraging her to be herself. The sorority is probably something her mom told her she had to do, and she does it well, but everyone is picking on her. I think she’s so used to it that she sees herself in that light—that she’s weird and not good enough, when really she’s running the sorority. Without her, Caroline would not be able to do her job. That’s the irony that the audience will see, but she can’t see it in herself.

When she’s with Professor Chadwick, one of the first things he says to her is, I don’t want you to think the way I think. I want you to think the way you think. It’s the first time that someone is appreciating her for all her great talents, even though they’re a bit odd. I think everyone yearns for that. You have these specific things inside of you that you just want someone to appreciate, but who knows if you’ll ever really find that. Luckily, Cece does. And she gets a little bit more confidence to stand up to Caroline.

In the finale, we do see the power dynamic between Caroline and Cece begin to shift, especially with Cece realizing that Caroline used her personal story to get closer to Annie (Savannah Lee Smith) and finding that sorority board uniform in her closet. How does Cece see their relationship at the end of the season?

I think it’s just barely starting to shift, but you can see Cece start to act a little bit differently. It’s a slow shift. As soon as she finds out about the fact that Caroline stole her story, she tries to cover it up because that’s her first reaction. Of course Caroline would do that because that’s just what we do. And I think if it wasn’t for the fact that she’s been growing with Chadwick, that would’ve been it. Caroline can do whatever she wants and can take what she wants from me. She’s the queen and I love her. But because of her growth, Cece is starting to question that relationship, which is really cool. Hopefully we can get to see that evolution continue in a season 2.

I would love to see that. I’m really hoping for Cece and Annie to team-up against Caroline.

There’s definitely some teaming up opportunities on the horizon.

Speaking of a potential season 2, are there any characters you’d like to see Cece interact with more if you do get renewed?

I think the relationship between Lucien (Zac Burgess) and Cece is really interesting because they’re both realizing that they’re getting fucked over by Caroline, so I think there could be a weird alliance there.

I would also love to learn more about Cece’s family life. She often mentions horrible things her mother has done to her, but there’s so much we don’t know. Did you have your own backstory for her?

Oh, yeah. Her mom is a huge figure in Cece’s life. I think Caroline mirrors that relationship. Cece never got the approval of her mother and obviously was abused by her mother in certain ways. She has a really hard home life and it really is at the root of her issues.

I really would love to get to see her mom in the second season. I imagine her as a crazy Brazilian trophy wife who married rich and is just so psycho and jealous of her daughter.

You’re relatively early in your career, but I saw that you were in Taurus (2022) alongside Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox, which shot around the time the press was going crazy for their relationship. What impact did seeing that up close so early in your career have on you?

It was really crazy. That was my first premiere, and the vibe, the paparazzi, even just when we did the carpet was crazy. [The paparazzi] were so aggressive. I remember my eyes were welling up while the photos were being taken because it was such an intense experience. I didn’t have a publicist at the time and I was doing it on my own. It was intense. I have a lot more support now and I don’t feel the same pressure because Cruel Intentions is an ensemble cast, so it feels like we’re all going through this together. But if I’ve taken away anything from that experience, it’s that I’m aware that people can lose themselves in this kind of thing.

I’m just trying to keep my friends close and the people that I love close, and remember that I do have a support system and to lean on them as much as I can because it really is crazy. I know that I have people who love me, and I’m just going to keep them close to my heart.

Parts of this interview have been edited and condensed for clarity.

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