Zoe Saldaña says the grind of starring in and producing Lioness is all the Taylor Sheridan workload she can take, and she cannot picture signing on for another of his shows.
The Oscar-winning actress, 48, told interviewers she is rethinking any wider commitment to the producer’s expanding slate even though the Paramount+ spy series has been a hit. Page Six reported her blunt assessment of the schedule that comes with being the lead.
Saldaña plays CIA operative Joe McNamara and also executive produces the show. That dual role leaves little room for anything else.
“I think that Joe McNamara and ‘Lioness’ is all that I can handle at this time,” she said. “I can’t imagine me taking on more of a Taylor Sheridan world.”
She spelled out why the job already fills the calendar. As the top name on the call sheet she is first one in and last one out. She starts prepping months before the rest of the company can.
“I’m No. 1 on the call sheet. I am first one in, last one out,” Saldaña said. “I am prepping months before anybody ever is able to prep. So it’s already a lot of work for me.”
“So, no, I think I’m good here at ‘Lioness,’” she added.
The Season 3 finale left her character’s future unsettled. The episode revealed that Aaliyah Amrohi, played by Stephanie Nur, masterminded Joe’s abduction. Saldaña said she does not know whether the story has another chapter in it.
“I don’t know if we’re able to go to a Season 4,” she said. “I don’t know where he would take it.”
She has already talked through story directions with Sheridan, 56, the Yellowstone creator behind the series. She came away pleased with the path he chose.
“I have my views, and I come with all heart, all brains, all muscle at all times,” Saldaña said, noting she is “so happy and proud of the direction that [Sheridan] eventually took.”
Earlier she told Entertainment Weekly that Season 3 itself had been exhausting. “It was very demanding, I’m not gonna lie,” she said then. “And I didn’t even know if I was gonna be able to pull it off.”
Fellow cast members have described the same high-pressure style. Jill Wagner, who plays Quick Reaction Force leader Bobby, said earlier this month that Sheridan once made her relearn a scene with her non-dominant hand only minutes before cameras rolled.
“He forces you to run into the fire,” Wagner said.
Laysla De Oliveira, who plays operative Cruz Manuelos, said the producer can rewrite blocking or business on the spot. Actors have to stay ready. “You have to have your head on a swivel and be able to do that,” she said, while clarifying that full scripts are not rewritten at the last minute.
The series also features Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Kelly and Dave Annable. It continues to stream on Paramount+.
Saldaña’s stance is straightforward: one Sheridan universe is enough when you are the engine that keeps it running. Hollywood stars who carry both the performance and the production load rarely get to coast, and she is choosing not to add another heavy title to an already full plate.
