Claim: Rodrigo Santoro is an actor.

Nikki Fernandez and Paulo -LSB- ˈpaʊloʊ -RSB- are fictional characters on the ABC drama television series Lost , which chronicles the lives of over forty people after their plane crashes on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific . American actress Kiele Sanchez and Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro play the survivors of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 .   The couple is introduced early in the third season . The producers of the show were often asked what the rest of the plane-crash survivors were doing because the show only focuses on approximately fifteen of the survivors , and the characters of Nikki and Paulo were created in response . Reaction to the characters was generally negative , with show runner , Damon Lindelof , acknowledging the couple are `` universally despised '' by fans . As a result of this , the couple was killed off later in the same season when they are accidentally buried alive while thought to be dead .