New York is loud, fast, and unforgiving, making it a fitting place to discuss The Rip, a thriller built on pressure. ¡HOLA! sat down with Sasha Calle and Catalina Sandino Moreno, the conversation moved the way their new movie does: quickly, with humor cutting through the intensity and Spanish slipping in like second nature.
The two Colombian actresses were there to promote a high-profile Netflix action thriller starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, but it became clear almost immediately that what connected them off camera mattered just as much as what audiences would see on screen.
The action-packed film follows a team of Miami cops who find millions of dollars in a stash house, and that discovery sets off a chain reaction that’s less about the money than about what it can do to people. As outside forces catch wind of the money, loyalties shift, alliances are broken, and the question becomes, who has your back when everything suddenly has a price?
Sasha Calle and Catalina Sandino Moreno are at the center of that tension. Calle broke out as Supergirl in The Flash, bringing a bold intensity to the iconic role that felt physical, fierce, and human, brings that same steel-and-heart energy into a grittier kind of action here. Sandino Moreno brings a different kind of power, quiet, controlled, and unmistakable. She has been doing career-defining work since Maria Full of Grace put her on the map with an Oscar Nomination (2004); a stunning performance that still resonates today.
Put them together, and the world feels more believable. Their off-camera bond made the set feel like home, and their Colombian roots rose naturally to the surface in the middle of Hollywood.
“A lot of people paved the way for us. Catalina paved the way. And I’m really grateful to be in this space with the actors that are in the rooms who are treating us as equals and are welcoming us into that space with respect and love and kindness.”
The script’s velocity
Catalina does not hesitate when asked what first caught her attention about the project. She explains that she usually takes her time with scripts, especially ones that come with this kind of scale and expectation, but The Rip moved too fast for that. “Everything, everything is so well written. Usually, I take my time to read scripts. This one I didn’t take any time.”
What appears to have pulled her in was all the momentum, the way the story demands your focus from the start. “I really needed to know what was happening,” she says. “It just grabs you from the start.” Later, watching the finished film, she felt a familiar sense of relief. “Sometimes you read something, and it doesn’t translate as well on the screen,” she says. “But this really worked.”
“I feel that Sasha is very bold. I mean, like… she just fits with everybody. It’s so easy for her to fit with people, and she’s not scared to just go in… I love that about her.”
Their takeaways and set stories
For Calle, one of the most lasting impressions from the shoot had less to do with the action and more to do with how the production was run. She points directly to the Artists Equity model championed by Damon and Affleck. “My biggest takeaway from this experience is how Matt and Ben are leading the way with Artists Equity.”
She talked about what you feel when you walk onto set. “They set a standard, and they want everyone to feel safe and equal,” she says. “They want people to walk in and have a good time doing their job.” On a film of this scale, that approach mattered, and she says that it showed in the way everyone worked on the set. “They cast a great group of people.” She credits Joe Carnahan with keeping the energy focused and collaborative even under pressure.
When asked what it meant to be part of a production this big, Calle said, “I think that both of us are working really hard to create really good art, and I think it’s important. I’m really grateful to be in this space with top actors who treat us as equals and welcome us with respect, love, and kindness.”
Sandino Moreno laughs and says, "this is a funny story," and proceed to bring up another unexpected co-star, Wilbur the beagle. A lifelong animal lover, she says she started playing with him on set only to realize she was allergic. “I own a dog. I have a dog myself. I love animals, and I started playing with Wilbur when I realized that I was allergic,” she says, explaining that she had to take medication and wash her hands thoroughly between takes.
Calle jumps in with a smile, noting to Catalina “You took it like a champ.” Wilbur, Sandino Moreno insists, was worth it. “He’s another character of this movie,” she adds. “I had to. It was not his problem. It was my problem.” She also revealed he was a fantastic actor and followed all the directions - bark, lift leg, etc.
A bond that felt like home
The part of the experience that both actresses return to most easily is finding each other. Calle talks about Latinas who came before her. “A lot of people paved the way for us,” she says. “Catalina paved the way.”
Then she gets more personal. Walking onto a massive set and hearing a familiar accent changed something for her. “As a Latina, as a Colombiana walking into set and being able to talk to Cata,” she says, “she felt like family immediately.” She noted, I had a relationship with each person, but with Catalina, it was like, I was back home, you know, it's very comforting. We hear our accent and are immediately touched. I think that's beautiful."
Sandino Moreno agreed, saying, “Super comforting to know that someone from Colombia is there with me,” she says. “It just feels like home. Feels safe.” It is not something you notice loudly, she explains, but it changes the rhythm of the day and the way you show up to set.
"Ten years ago, I would have never thought that I was going to do an action film. I’ve done three. As I’ve gotten older, fear is gone… You reach a point, I’m in my forties. Why not? Let’s just try it. Let’s have fun.”
Spanish on and off the set
That shared sense of culture and connection was visible during the interview. Both actresses lit up during the interview when they spoke about how Spanish was handled on set. It was not treated as an accessory, but as something that needed to sound right. It was a key element.
“I love the fact that even Ben and Matt spoke Spanish during the movie,” Calle says. For her, it mattered that Spanish wasn’t treated like a background detail, but something the cast committed to getting right.
“Bueno, yo diría...because we’re going to do a little Spanglish...yo diría que seeing another Colombian woman with strength and kindness, living in the same city as me, with perseverance, doing big films and continuing to strut along, for me is very meaningful.”
Sandino Moreno points out that the effort extended across the ensemble, including Steven Yeun, who worked on Spanish for a moment that ultimately didn’t make the final cut. “Steven had to speak Spanish. It didn’t make the movie, but we worked together,” she says. “His Spanish is so good.”
Sandino Moreno laughs remembering how seriously he took it. “Like his little phrase, phonetically, he made it work. He rolled his R’s. He was doing a fantastic job,” she adds, admitting she was “so upset” viewers won’t get to hear it."
Called links that attention to language back to the reality of Miami. She also pointe out how language becomes part of the film's humor and tension, “The juxtaposition or the humor of that was that the one cop, who was Steven Yeun, didn’t understand anything. What mattered most to her was the collective effort of the cast. They all tried very hard to speak Spanish, which was beautiful," adding, "Ben and Matt speak well, they are pretty much fluent at this point."
“I was doing interviews with Ben, he was talking about how he wanted to make sure that it felt really truthful and authentic to the story. And in Miami, you know, everyone's speaking Spanglish all the time."
Admiration and sisterhood
When asked what they admire about each other, the conversation slows. Calle answers first, slipping into Spanglish without thinking about it. She talks about what it means to see another Colombian woman moving through the same city, the same industry, with both strength and kindness intact.
“Bueno, yo diría, because we’re going to do a little Spanglish, yo diría que seeing another Colombian woman with strength and kindness, living in the same city as me, with perseverance, doing big films and continuing to strut along, for me, is very meaningful. A lot of the times when you're in the business, you're away from home and you do feel isolated and you try to get the effort and strength to keep pushing forward."
She added, "And I think Catalina is a very strong woman, with perseverance, and from Colombia. So it’s like you’re seeing another woman from your family striving and succeeding. And I very much admire you for that.”
Sandino Moreno reflects for a moment, then smiles. “I feel that Sasha is very bold,” she says, describing Calle’s ease with people and her willingness to step into new spaces without hesitation. “She fits with everybody. It’s easy for her. She’s friendly, but she’s genuinely friendly.” What she admires most is how unguarded Calle is in those rooms.
“She’s not scared to just go in and be herself. I love that about her,” she says. In an industry where reserve can become armor, she sees that openness as a strength with real ripple effects. “And I think that’s going to help her with jobs. That’s going to help her develop characters. That’s going to help her in both your personal and professional life. It’s going to be fantastic. That’s a great quality to have.”
Risk, action, and their instincts
Sandino Moreno reflects on how her relationship with risk has changed. “Ten years ago, I would have never thought that I was going to do an action film,” she says. “I’ve done three.” She explains that time brought freedom. “As I’ve gotten older, fear is gone."
Adding, "I started this business with a very special movie that meant a lot for me. And when I saw people's reactions, I'm like, that's what I want to do the rest of my life. And I did it for a long time, but you reach a point, I'm in my forties. Why not? Let's just try it. Let's have fun. My mind changed, I want to explore those roles. How I choose now is completely different from what I chose at the beginning."
Calle’s path has been different. She moved to Los Angeles for music, then earned her degree in performing arts, training in singing, acting, and dancing. “That was what I got into,” she says. “That training accepted me, and I was ready to go in.” Music is still a constant. “I still do music, and I love it very, very much,” she adds. “And I’m constantly working on it.”
Acting, though, pulled her in with a force she did not expect. “With acting, it was very interesting,” she says. “Not that I didn’t work really hard, because I did. I showed up every single day. But I just felt like it grabbed me and pulled me in like a lasso, like Wonder Woman just flicked me.” She remembers the moment she stopped resisting acting and leaned fully into the craft. “I was like, okay, I embrace you.”
She describes acting as an internal art form, a way for her to merge with another person from the inside out. Adding, "It became a really beautiful craft that I started to learn so much about and love. Today I feel really grateful. Yeah, I love it."
Bringing it back to family
Towards the end of the conversation, Sandino Moreno brings the focus back to family. She talks about her grandmother, who she said read ¡HOLA! for more than 30 years, and how deeply that ritual shaped what this interview meant to her. “She would be so proud, I just want her to feel proud,” Sandino Moreno shared.
The actress continued, “I told her I’m going to wear something really beautiful for you. I wouldn’t wear that if it wasn’t for ¡HOLA! magazine, because she loves it. She enjoys it. And she just reads the magazine every day.”
In the movie, trust breaks down fast, off camera, Calle and Sandino Moreno found the opposite: a bond that felt like home and made a massive set feel personal. It is also proof that Latina actresses are claiming more space in high-stakes thrillers, not on the sidelines, but right at the center.
The Rip is streaming now on Netflix. Do not miss your chance to watch them in action.
Credits:
Chief Content Officer, ¡HOLA! Americas | U.S.: Nagidmy Márquez Acosta
Deputy Editor, ¡HOLA! U.S.: Andrea Pérez
Interviewer: Fernanda Garcia
Photographer: Manuel Ortiz
Sasha Calle's glam team:
Makeup: Shelby Smith
Hair: Rutger
Catalina Sandino Moreno's glam team:
Stylist: Jessica Paster
Hair: Ben Skervin
Makeup: Ana Marie Rizzieri