Summary
The pressure was on forGenesis RodriguezinLionessSeason 2.
Special Ops: LionessstarsZoe Saldanaas Joe, the head of a clandestine CIA operation the Lioness program.
Joe recruits female operatives called Lionesses to essentially put everything on the line to fight the war on terror.
Image via Paramount+
In Season 1, De Oliveira was an absolute powerhouse as Cruz Manuelos to say the least.
During her round of Dicey Questions, Rodriguez rolled high/low."
So, obviously, you mourn it and that’s it.
Image via Paramount+
I want to say it was like seven other girls in the room.
This is, you know, post-COVID and post-strike.
I hadn’t been in the room in a very long time.
But I got my earphones andI kept on playing Elton Johns Someone Saved My Life Tonight.
[Laughs] I just was like, I am gonna fight for my life for this one!
I felt like, for the first time, someone saw me like that.
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Really, really grateful.
I really did!The first day, I was like, Is this really happening?
Is this safe?My instructor, Craig Hosking, he’s incredible.
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.
He is the most patient pilot ever.
You’ll see in a lot of the shots I’m really flying.
I’m really cruising up there, and I actually really like it.
When it came to the physical training, Rodriguez couldnt just follow a broad strokes program to gain muscle.
She had to ensure her body would reflect how Josie likely operates as a US Army helicopter pilot specifically.
Are we at the right gas?
How are the rotors?
She has this checklist the whole entire timebeforefiring it up.
That is the same exact thing with herself and her body.
You have to have some physical strength with your helicopter.
It’s like your baby; you take care of it.
You park it outside, you bring it inside.
Give it to me.
It just helps with the complete transformation.
I had never done it before.
That was a lot of fun to see the transformation and to feel the transformation.
Fortunately, Rodriguez had an ideal trainer by her side to help her complete that transformation.
I was like, No, you keep going.
You better not look weak in front of him!
[Laughs] I would throw up, and Id come back and be like, Much better.
Okay, let’s go.
Let’s keep going.
And he’d be like, Yes!
Honestly, I just wanted to make him proud.
Each set, I would ask him questions.
I would break down every war movie ever and be like, What do you think about this?
What do you think about that?
What would you do in that situation?
I would just get into his mindset, and that was a part of my preparation for that.
She’s such a generous and present actor, wow.
She’s giving every single take.
You never see her check out.
One of the very first scenes she shot with Saldana?
Josies introduction, when the two are fuming, screaming at the top of their lungs at one another.
That was one of those scenes where I blacked out.I hadnorecollection of what happened.
You really do feel that.
How intense do you come out?
This is not a mistake that’s not taken seriously for her.
It’smajorthat three of her people from her base died, so she’s gonna be pissed.
Its the scene in the office when Joe pitches her the Lioness program.
As soon as she hears the Lioness program, she knows what she’s about to ask her.
So, no matter what, there was no way out.
She knows as soon as she says it, she’s in.
Lionessis available to stream on Paramount+.
