‘Lioness’ stars Jill Wagner & Laysla De Oliveira’s praise from military: ‘We got it right’
“Lioness” strives to bring as much realism as possible to the complex work of the CIA and military, and according to stars Jill Wagner and Laysla De Oliveira, they’re succeeding.
“Major, major hitters in the U.S. military have come up to me and my husband and said how much they love the show,” Wagner told PauseRewind’s Elizabeth Stanton. “And it’s such an amazing honor because it’s called ‘Lioness’. It’s not called ‘Lion.’ It’s called ‘Lioness,’ and it’s told from a female perspective. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have amazing male actors and that are portraying some really powerhouse people. But the fact that they’re buying it means that we got it right.”
Wagner added that because of her work on the show and her husband David Lemanowicz’s military background, she’s been “privy” to behind-the-scenes details viewers are still surprised by.
“I think that there’s so much that we don’t know, even within this show,” she said. “I know my friends and family have watched it and they’re like, ‘Does that really happen?’ Yeah, it does. It does.”
Wagner and De Oliveira star alongside Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldana in the series, created by Taylor Sheridan.
The show doesn’t shy away from the complexities of the work the CIA and U.S. military engage in at home and abroad and the near impossible decisions to continue freedom and security for the world.
De Oliveira noted the recurring theme is “that things aren’t so black and white.”
As the show enters its third season, the complications come home, impacting the personal lives of the agents, especially Saldana’s Joe McNamara.
Describing what audiences can expect, De Oliveira used key words to describe the show, including “raw, explosivesexy, hot, love, power.”
And while acting is nowhere near as dangerous or risky as being in the CIA or military, the job can still take a toll on actors’ families when they have to film far from home.
“I lock my husband in the apartment of wherever I stay, so it’s really not a problem for me,” De Oliveira joked, but added, “No, whenever he can come visit, he does come visit.”
She continued, “I don’t know if there is an easy way to do it. I think that’s probably one of the more challenging things figuring out life when you have a 14-hour day.”
Wagner, a mom of two girls with Lemanowicz, agreed.
“I think you just have to find the pockets that you can bring them with right,” she said. “The first season, I didn’t have my girls in Mallorca or Morocco, and that was super challenging. And understanding that that won’t work for me ever again.”
She continued, “I love when people are like, ‘How do you have it all figured out?’ I’m like,’ ‘I don’t!”
Wagner said Saldana, also a mom of two, felt the same challenges.
“It’s this forever changing thing, and you just have to be malleable, and you have to just work within your family resources, and try to make it work,” Wagner said.
“Lioness” premieres Sunday, August 2 on Paramount+.
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