Why Sara Sampaio Didn’t Watch Ray Nicholson in Smile 2 (Excl)

Sara Sampaio is boyfriend Ray Nicholson’s No. 1 cheerleader, but she has not seen his latest movie Smile 2 for one reason.

“I actually haven’t watched it. I can’t watch horror movies,” Sampaio, 33, exclusively told Us Weekly at Darren Dzienciol’s Haunted Hotel on Friday, November 1. “I get really bad nightmares and he hates watching himself, so he is like, ‘Don’t watch it.’”

While Sampaio hasn’t seen Nicholson, 32, in the recently released horror flick, she did lend her support behind the scenes.

“I helped him with his scenes when he was filming, so I kind of know what happens, and I tape with him all the time,” she said. “He’s incredible. All my friends went to see it the other day and they told me it was amazing. Maybe I’ll watch just his scenes, but I’m too much of a baby and I asked him, ‘Is it really scary?’ ‘Cause I can do a little gore, but [he said] like, ‘No, there’s a lot of jump scares, and I’m like ‘I can’t do it.’”

Two years after the first Smile debuted in theaters, a sequel starring Nicholson, Naomi Scott and Lukas Gage was mounted. It premiered last month with Scott, 31, playing pop star Skye Riley as she starts experiencing increasingly terrifying — namely, everyone around her suddenly wearing creepy grins — amid her global concert tour.

Nicholson appeared alongside Scott on the movie poster, where many fans likened him to a younger version of his famous father. Ray is one of the children of legendary actor Jack Nicholson and ex Rebecca Broussard, who also share daughter Lorraine.

“It’s his dad, so you know, the DNA, it’s strong,” Sampaio joked to Us on Friday.

Sampaio has been dating Ray since summer 2023. They made their red carpet debut at the Vanity Fair Oscar party in March.

“We just love each other so much and we are just kind to each other,” Sampaio gushed on Friday. “I think that the basis of our relationship is just kindness and just being each other’s best friends.”

Sampaio, like Ray, is an actress. She will next appear in the upcoming Superman: Legacy origin film opposite David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan.

“It’s such an iconic comic book, an iconic superhero, and just to be a part of it [was an honor],” Sampaio told Us. “Being able to work with James Gunn and Nicholas Hoult, and [David and Rachel]; honestly, people who are my heroes. It’s just been a dream.”

With reporting by Mariel Turner