María Gabriela de Faría’s Venezuelan heritage is an integral part of her identity, evident in her accent, humor, and the home-cooked meals she generously shares on set. A natural talent, she began acting as a child, quickly becoming a fixture in local telenovelas. By her teens, the Nickelodeon series Isa TKM had made her a household name across Latin America.
Her early start was driven by both passion and necessity. “I begged my mom to please keep taking me to auditions,” she remembers. “It was also a means of surviving for my family. We were really poor. The fact that I had a job that could pay for my school and my brother’s and rent was amazing. I felt really proud of it as a kid.”
Venezuela’s film and television industry has faced significant challenges, limiting opportunities for its vast pool of talent and pushing many actors to seek careers abroad. De Faría was one of them, driven by a desire for new artistic tools and a goal to master English. “I always felt like there was something missing,” she says. An initial move to Miami proved comfortable but counterproductive for language learning, prompting her relocation to Los Angeles.
The journey to establish a career in Hollywood was formidable, especially for a Venezuelan actress. While landing major roles remains an uphill battle for many Latinas, their breakthroughs often create a lasting impact, introducing characters that challenge and inspire. De Faría follows in the footsteps of trailblazers like María Conchita Alonso and Patricia Velásquez, who carved out space in the industry under similarly difficult circumstances.
Aware of the industry’s barriers, de Faría embraces her position with a clear sense of purpose: to represent Latinas with authenticity and discipline. Now, as she prepares to debut as the antihero Angela ‘Angie’ Spica, also known as The Engineer, in James Gunn’s highly anticipated Superman, she is building a legacy. The role provides crucial visibility for a new generation of Venezuelan actors who have rarely seen themselves reflected on such a grand scale. “I want to do things that scare me,” she states. “The tougher it is, the more I seek it out.”
Reflecting on her start, de Faría notes she had a positive experience as a child actor, largely because her mother was a constant presence. “My mom was with me 100 percent of the time. I was never alone. I felt safe.” Family and career remain deeply connected for her. While her mother, her former “momager,” understands the industry intricacies, her father fully grasped the magnitude of her success only after visiting the massive Superman set in Atlanta.
De Faría’s professional drive was evident early on. At 14, after auditioning for Nickelodeon Latin America’s first original series, she boldly walked into a room of 20 executives and declared, “Hi, you don’t know me, but I auditioned yesterday, and I think I’m the one for the role.” Her confidence paid off, and the next day, the part was hers.
Her move to Los Angeles at 21 was a deliberate step toward personal and professional growth after a successful career in Latin America. The casting process for Superman was a month-long, nerve-wracking ordeal that culminated while she was on a treadmill at the gym. Her agent’s call began with a nerve-racking misdirect before delivering the life-changing news. “I screamed at the gym,” she recalls. “The first thing I did was go to Party City and buy a Superman cape. I walked around Pasadena wearing the cape.”
Transforming into The Engineer required immense physical and mental dedication. Guided by Hollywood trainer Paolo Mascitti, she underwent a grueling eight-month regimen. “Three to four hours a day, every day,” she says. “Now I know I can go through that pain and survive. I’m even excited about more action roles. I’m like, ‘Tom Cruise, watch out.’” Her preparation also involved deep research into the DC comics, particularly The Authority, her character’s morally ambiguous superhero team. While she remains tight-lipped about The Engineer’s origins, she hints at a Latin connection: “I do have a couple of lines in Spanish… so something is definitely brewing.”
With Superman’s premiere on the horizon, de Faría is already focused on the future. She has acquired the rights to a book by Laura Ferrero, which she is adapting for the screen, and will star alongside Rome Flynn in the Tyler Perry-produced musical Otra. The project, a dance musical featuring reggaeton, salsa, and merengue, presents another welcome challenge. “Those projects where I have to do something completely new, things I’m not familiar with, those are the ones I want,” she says, embracing the very path that brought her to this pivotal moment in her career.
