Lioness, the hit Paramount+ series from creator Taylor Sheridan, follows the exploits of its eponymous figure, a deep-cover elite agent with a job to expose and eliminate America’s enemies.Zoe Saldaña plays the project’s CIA leader, while Nicole Kidman plays her boss, an even higher-ranked CIA agent who has to deal with the political risks and ramifications of the work done by the Lioness program. Season 1 featured Laysla de Oliveira as a Marine who is brought in to take down a Middle Eastern terrorist financier. For Season 2,Genesis Rodriguez stars as Captain Josephina Carrillo, an Army helicopter pilot who is brought into the fold to help take down the leader of a Mexican drug cartel… Who just happens to be her own uncle.
Genesis Rodriguez helps elevateLioness' sophomore season with the vulnerability of her performance. WhiletheLionessof season 1had time to train and mentally prepare herself before going out into the field, Carrillo is more of a raw nerve, emotionally unprepared for the toll the mission takes on her. Much of the tension in the show comes from Carrillo figuring out if she has the resolve to see the mission through to its bitter end or if there might be some other way to accomplish her goals without seeing her family members killed, however estranged they may be.
Special Ops: Lioness Cast & Character Guide
Zoe Saldaña leads the cast of Special Ops: Lioness on Paramount+, but Taylor Sheridan’s spy thriller TV series features many other big names.
ScreenRantinterviewed Genesis Rodriguez about her work onLioness, as something of a mid-season check-in. She praised Taylor Sheridan’s writing and how he created a role she could sink her teeth into. She also discussed Carrillo’s wavering emotional state throughout the show, playing a character constantly on the edge of emotional collapse. Finally, she spoke about working out for the show.
Genesis Rodriguez’s Natural Emotional Sensitivity Helped Her Become A Lioness
“I just truly empathize with this character and what’s being asked of her.”
Screen Rant: We’re halfway throughLionessseason 2. Captain Carrillo, she just needs a hug, man.
Genesis Rodriguez: She needs a hug, man, right?
Every time we see her. She goes through the wringer.
Genesis Rodriguez: She goes through the wringer, and nobody is cutting her any slack or keeping her in the loop. Man, she’s gone through it.
For you, is it just acting? Or do you have to get yourself into this emotionally vulnerable position where you’re just like, “Okay, Zoe Saldaña, scream in my face for an hour.”
Genesis Rodriguez: [Laughs] Oh, that’s so good. Honestly, for Zoe, yes, whatever she wants. If she wants to scream at me for an hour, I love her so much, she can. But no, in all seriousness, I would say one of my things is that I’m hyper-sensitive. And I think that’s the reason why I’m an actor. Because if you will tell me your life story, and you have sadness in there, I will be crying with you and holding your hand. I’m just sensitive. Which would probably be why I was an interesting teenager.
But all that to say, yeah, I guess I have a very deep well. I just truly empathize with this character and what’s being asked of her, which is insane. When I wrap my head around that; to turn against your own family! I don’t know if I would be able to do that. But Josie is the type of person that puts her country first. She’s served her country, and she’s sacrificed her life for her country. That type of person, if you ask that of them, they are going to consider that heavily. Yeah, it’s a real honor to play Josie.
Genesis Rodriguez Addresses The Intense Physical Training Required For Lioness
“I never knew I could play a Captain in the Army.”
Incredibly well said. Kind of, does the physical training and like, we see your abs, and they look like they are played by bricks. They look like someone surgically inserted bricks under your skin. Does that offset some of your sensitivity? Do you like feeling that strong?
Genesis Rodriguez: You know what? I didn’t know I had it in me. I had no idea. I didn’t even know, because truthfully, my spirit animal is a sloth in real life. [Laughs] This character is a huge departure from who I am. And I was slowly turning from sloth to a lioness! And really, I love acting. It’s my favorite thing in the world. I’m so, so grateful I get to do what I love to do.
This character, in particular, gave me the opportunity to use my physical body to help tell the story. And it’s the story of someone who’s regimented, who’s routined, who has a checklist. When you see her walk, you know exactly who she is. She’s very hard on herself, and she’s disciplined. And that, already, is telling the story, the physicality of it. Not only that, when it comes to helicopters and being a helicopter pilot, from getting training and flying the helicopter, I realized that you have to be strong to pick up the tail and to move the plane where you needed to go so you could take off. Like, this is a job! This is part of the requirement, so you need to have that.
For me, give me a character where I have to gain weight and lose the weight, and let me transform completely, because it only helps the work and it informs the work.
After doing a season of this show that’s so emotionally strenuous and physically strenuous, does it feel different than finishing any other job? Not to diminish any of your other work, obviously, but do you feel like, “Whew, I did it!”
Genesis Rodriguez: Yeah, “I did it. I did that.” It’s amazing because you get to know more about yourself. You’re like, “Oh my god, I was able to do that. That came out of me.” Okay, well, now there’s no excuse. You got to go to the gym. Now you gotta go to the gym on a regular basis.
It’s easy, but now it’s a lot easier when it’s like, “Oh, you get a character, and you may do it for a character.” But when it’s your daily life, you just get swept up by life. But I’m really grateful for this experience because it taught me more about myself than I ever knew. I never knew I could play a Captain in the Army. I saw the breakdown, and I was like, “Can I do this? I don’t even know.” I’m very grateful I was able to learn that I, in fact, could do it.
More About Lioness Season 2
As the CIA’s fight against terror moves closer to home, Joe (Saldaña), Kaitlyn (Kidman), and Byron (Kelly) enlist a new Lioness operative to infiltrate a previously unknown threat. With pressure mounting from all sides, Joe is forced to confront the profound personal sacrifices she has made as the leader of the Lioness program.
Lioness
Cast
Special Ops: Lioness is a Paramount+ original series starring Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman. The series centers on a marine and a CIA agent who work together with the daughter of a dangerous terrorist group to destroy the organization. Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone co-creator) and Jill Wagner created the series, which was directed by Paul Cameron and Anthony Byrne.
