Maia Reficco Can’t Be Stopped

Maia Reficco won’t let anything slow her down—not even a car crash. The 26-year-old actor hasn’t stopped working since her days playing Kally Ponce on the Nickelodeon Latin America show Kally’s Mashup, and even after getting into an accident in Mallorca, Spain, while filming her latest movie, The Last Sunrise, she still showed up on set the next day, ready to work.“I probably should have better boundaries in that regard, but I’m very much like, ‘Go, go, go,’” she tells Cosmopolitan. “If I’m able to, I will be at work, regardless of my state, and I don’t really know how to stop. I have the combination of a South American immigrant and Nickelodeon kid mindset.”That’s probably why she relates so much to her character in The Last Sunrise, Oriah “Ry” Pera. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Anna Todd, the Prime Video romance follows chronically ill college student Ry as she joins her real estate mogul mom (Eva Longoria) on a summer trip to Mallorca. There she falls for a handsome local (Fernando Lindez) and—unbeknownst to her overprotective mother—stops taking the anti-seizure meds she uses to help manage her epilepsy. For Ry, putting her health at risk is worth being able to experience life fully.Maia, too, is all about pushing herself to her limits. But despite her hustler mentality, she has no intention of relocating to Hollywood anytime soon. As she explains it, “I’ve been here [in Argentina] for 22 years, and my sense of identity is so much more truthful to who I am when I’m here.”Born in Boston, Maia moved with her family to Buenos Aires when she was 4 and never left—save for when she was filming the HBO Max spin-off series Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin in New York’s Hudson Valley or when she was making her Broadway debut in Hadestown. But even with a new movie and new music coming out within a month of each other, Maia still can’t quite believe that all this is happening for her. She’s not taking a second of it for granted either.Cosmopolitan caught up with Maia to chat about filming sex scenes, breaking away from child stardom, and finding joy in the little things.Rona Liana AhdoutDress, tights, and shoes Saint Laurent.You started shooting The Last Sunrise just about a year ago in August 2025, right? How long did you spend in Mallorca? Two months, and I would have stayed forever. It was an absolute dream come true.You mentioned during an interview on NBC New York Live that you had a friend from Mallorca who showed you around. Was that Spanish singer-songwriter BORJA? Yes! Getting to have my best friend in the world, who I love with every fiber of my being, show me around—and be like, “This is my favorite restaurant, this is where my mom would come as a kid,” all of these things—was very inception-y as an actor, because it was literally like what my character was going through. We went through some really beautiful experiences there as well as some really scary ones, like when we were on the way to the beach one afternoon and got into a terrible car crash. We experienced all of it.Oh my god, what happened? I was admitted into the same hospital where we then shot for Ry, which was just a terrible, scary coincidence. I think I still had my hospital band from the shoot. I was concussed, so I had MRIs and CTs and all of those things that I learned about on The Pitt. I’m laughing through it now because obviously, thankfully, we were okay. But it was really bad.That’s some serious method acting. But in all seriousness, I’m glad you’re okay. Speaking of committing to the bit: How was filming that karaoke scene? The drunk karaoke, goodness gracious! I was so mortified by the thought of doing a drunk karaoke scene because I feel like there are so many legendary ones that I was just like, Wow! I was so self-conscious. I don’t think being a singer helped because I was not trying to sing properly. It was definitely the scene that made me the most nervous pre-shoot.Even more nervous than that naked beach scene with Fernando? I didn’t expect to see boy butt on my screen in the first 10 minutes of the movie, but I wasn’t mad about it. [Laughs] I don’t think anybody is. But honestly, with Fed, I think it was really special, because we really got to know each other very quickly. And even though—we’ve told the story in the press before—we didn’t really get along at the beginning, we became such good friends and so close. I feel like the film really benefited from it, because we felt so comfortable with trying things, and we could rely on each other to make these vulnerable scenes believable.Rona Liana AhdoutWhat was it like filming your more intimate scenes together? I’ve had my fair share of sex scenes—I had one scene with KJ Apa in a film we did called One Fast Move that was pretty intense to shoot—but definitely this was the most hardcore. The most important part was trusting Fernando, trusting [director] Carlson [Young], trusting our intimacy coordinator. But I think it felt so much easier than I was expecting it to, because I had a solid friend in front of me who I knew I could trust. I was going through a tough time personally, and he really helped me through that. I feel really lucky that I was able to have a friend by my side through something that is inherently quite vulnerable, to be in such little clothes and to film such raw, sensual scenes.I know you’re both professionals, obviously, but was there any weirdness in knowing that Fernando has an offscreen girlfriend?No, no, definitely not. I think the most important thing for both of us was to be professional, to feel comfortable, and I think we made that very much a priority on both of our ends. And I think it really helped us that we both speak Spanish and it’s our first language, and so we were able to communicate in, like, a very frank way. I sometimes feel like in English, I struggle with finding the earnest Maia, so getting to primarily speak my own language was very healing and allowed for scenes like this that required that level of intimacy and vulnerability to be that much easier.I’d love to talk a bit more about your character, Ry. I was rooting for her, but at the same time, I wasn’t sure I would make the same choices she did. What do you think you would do in her shoes? As an actor, I think the biggest thing for me is never judging decision-making when it comes to a character. Instead, I try to understand the why. With this particular situation, I feel like Ry’s reality is informed by things that I can’t talk about firsthand, so I can’t imagine what it must be like to make a decision like that. Funnily enough, I have an autoimmune disease, and I’ve struggled a lot with my health over the last couple years, but even then, I’ve never had to make such a life-altering choice. But I think that’s the beauty of it, and the beauty of humanity is that most of us don’t always make the right decision or the most likable decision.Because this is a romance film, I have to ask: You made headlines a couple months ago because you were spotted with a certain Argentinian F1 driver in Miami. What’s going on with you and Franco Colapinto?I don’t love to talk about my love life, but I’m very happy. I feel like love in all its forms does nothing but enhance life and partnership, whether it is through friendships, through family, or through a partner. So yeah. I’m trying not to comment directly on those kinds of things, but I’m very happy.Rona Liana AhdoutAll clothing and shoes Fendi, socks stylist’s own.And I’m happy that you’re happy! What brings you the most joy in life? I feel the most myself when I sing and can be here on my shitty, shitty keyboard that I’ve had for probably 12 years and I could probably upgrade. Singing and being with my friends brings me joy. I also love to read and take photos. I guess I love taking Italian lessons, because I love having a hobby that I’m terrible at. For the past two years, my brother and I have been taking lessons. Oh, and my brother! Oh, my god, he’s the person I love most in this universe and I would do anything for. And, of course, being able to do what I love is just a ridiculous cherry on top.I’m still thinking about how you went right back to set after that car accident. Do you hope to find a better balance between work and pleasure in the future? I would say the biggest lesson from the last, like, five years of my career has been that what I do is not who I am and doesn’t define my self-worth. I really struggled with believing that for many years, which is going back to that child actor mentality of, like, hustle, hustle, hustle! I’ve always based my self-worth—and, like, who I was as a performer and friend and partner and all the things—off my work and the value I thought I could offer to others. I think as I’ve grown up, I’ve realized it’s the complete and utter opposite of that, and everything else is so small in comparison to loving the people around me and hopefully being loved by them.How does it feel to have new music coming out so soon? I’m already loving your first single, “Amapola.” Honestly, I feel like acting is what I love to do, but music is who I am—like, it’s intrinsically part of my being. There is no me without it. So after many years of many trials and tribulations, getting to finally share this with the world and seeing it finally come to fruition is so special.Would you ever collaborate with your brother on a music project?Yes! We have this dream. We want to make a joint EP really badly, but we also want it to make sense creatively. I’m now working on my second body of work after this first one comes out, and actually, I’ve written the entirety of the second one with my brother. We’d never written together up until working on this, and it was something that completely caught us by surprise. He’s the person that knows me the most in the world, but he’s never heard me, like, tell my life story to a third party so we could write a song about it. It’s a very particular dynamic.It’s kind of giving Billie Eilish and Finneas. It’d be an honor to get compared to two of the greatest artists of all time.Rona Liana AhdoutAre you hoping to lean more into music going forward? I would love to act forever. But who I am is the music I make. I’ve prioritized acting for the last 10 years in my career, and so I think it’s time to kind of switch gears for a little bit, and then hopefully come back and be able to choose what to do. And I really want to go back to Broadway at some point. I guess time will tell. Maybe we do two or three of these [Last Sunrise films]. I know there was a Deadline thing saying that Amazon was developing [a sequel], and I was like, “Y’all.” I do—actually, I can’t say that. I was about to say a crazy thing that I’ll get in trouble for saying.I won’t tell anyone. I promise.It’d be a great sequel. Like, the ending of the film really makes room for a great sequel.Oh yeah, for sure. I’d watch. Just saying.You and me both. I literally am saying it in every interview because I’m like, “Please, please, please.” That being said, I’m so excited and so grateful. Like, my whole life in Argentina, I’ve dreamt about occupying spaces like this, because it felt so unfathomable and so far away from my reality. So the fact that it’s here and that these things are starting to happen doesn’t cease to amaze me. I feel like the luckiest woman alive.Lead Image: All clothing, shoes, and necklace (bottom) Versace, necklaces (worn throughout) Dezso. Styled by Kaia Carioli. Hair by Danielle Priano. Makeup by Samantha Lau.