[This story contains mild spoilers from the season two premiere of Lioness.]
Taylor Sheridan famously wears many hats on his shows as some combination of creator, writer, executive producer, director and/or showrunner for many of his hit TV series, from Yellowstone to Mayor of Kingstown. Lioness is on that list, too, and on the Paramount+ CIA drama, which began its season two release on Sunday night, he threw on another hat as an actor — while taking his shirt off to reveal the buffest of physiques — to play CIA operative Cody Spears on an explosive mission south of the border alongside series star Zoe Saldaña and their counterparts.
It’s far from the first time Sheridan has jumped in front of camera, as the multi-hyphenate cut his teeth in the industry as an actor (see Sons of Anarchy, Veronica Mars) before becoming one of the most prolific storytellers in Hollywood. At the season two premiere of Lioness at Hollywood’s Linwood Dunn Theatre last week, The Hollywood Reporter asked stars like Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman and Dave Annable what it’s really like to work with — and now, opposite — Sheridan on the action-packed special ops-focused series.
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Zoe Saldaña
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“He’s intense in all the right ways. He cares a whole lot and he’s very invested, so he’s all in at all times. That gives way for a challenge, which means you have to come prepared and you have to step up and know exactly what you’re doing, because he sure does. It was definitely an adventure that I was only half-prepared for, and the other half, I guess I had to improvise. He’s an actor first so he’s all about the actors. He’s writing amazing moments for each and every actor, and I really appreciate that. Sharing scenes with him was a little nerve-wracking, because you don’t know if he’s coming at you as his character or he’s coming at you as your boss.
He definitely tended to get really in character. We were shooting in Texas and it was really hot this past summer when we were shooting. We were sitting in this SUV and he pulled the windows up, cranked the heat up and we were looking at him like, ‘what is this Hunter S. Thompson situation here? What are you doing?’ But it really got us all glowy, glossy and sweaty. It was fun. There were fun moments, and then there were moments of a lot of intensity, because every scene we did together was intense. We were always sort of taking from that energy.”
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Nicole Kidman
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“Talk about a powerhouse. He is doing everything, and writing projects that are so good — he never stops. He’s bringing so much work to all of us and to the industry, and that’s incredible. It’s fantastic.”
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Morgan Freeman
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“Working for Taylor Sheridan is an ongoing joy. He’s a world of his own. He is a dynamo, just an amazing man. Talented all the way up to here,” says the veteran actor motioning above his head. “The fact that he does it alone is surprising to me, because there’s a lot of work to get it all done.”
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Michael Kelly
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“I love working with Taylor Sheridan, man. I love it. He’s playing on a different field. I can’t think of someone who’s had seven successful hit shows on at the same time that he’s literally himself creating multiple seasons for — it’s crazy. And he is acting, and he’s also cutting horses in a rodeo competition. It’s like, bro, I have a hard time getting the dishes done and taking my son to baseball practice. That dude’s just on another level. It’s so cool that he’s acting in [this new season of Lioness]. He is acting because he’s a great actor and he’s perfect for the role he’s playing. It’s insane.
I also loved working with him as a director. He didn’t direct me in season one, but he did direct me in season two. I found he had great notes. The coolest thing that he did with me was that he knew exactly what he wanted. There were no wasted takes. He would stop a take in the middle because he’s like, ‘I’m not going to use the tail end of that coverage.’ Those situation room scenes can be nine pages long, and as an actor it can be hard. So for him to stop and say ‘We got it’ is great, because he knows exactly what he wants.”
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Dave Annable
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“He’s an incredible leader and we were blessed to have him actually direct the first two episodes. The way he ran the set and the respect the crew has for him as well as the actors, I mean, he’s exactly the guy you want to be working for. He’s fiercely loyal, and he loves hard work and grit. If you’re able to bring that to the table, you’re going to stick around. It’s a gift to work for him, and I don’t think there’s a bigger compliment as an actor than to be asked back.
It’s because of Yellowstone that Taylor thought of me and thought I could be a beautiful marriage to play Neal. Taylor knows exactly what he’s doing, and that’s one of the reasons why his shows are so successful. He knows who to cast and what they bring. The family dynamics of his shows are incredible. I also love working with Zoe [Saldaña]. Watching and feeling her work is sensational. Obviously, I’m not part of any of the other scenes so after I watched what they did, I texted her to say, ‘You are incredible.’ To be able to pull off the family dynamics stuff and then switch over to the work stuff, it’s crazy. She’s insanely good. I think everyone on the show is, to be honest.”
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Thad Luckinbill
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“I worked with Taylor on another movie a few years ago, [12 Strong]. He came in and played a couple of scenes and was so good in the role. It was like a page of dialogue and exposition to this entire group of army guys. He killed it. I was just like, ‘this guy’s unbelievable.’ I had known him longer than that, actually, but I had never seen him really act like that. He’s an incredible actor in addition to everything else that he does. I feel like he should be in everything that he does. He’s so perfect [in Lioness]. He’s a badass. His great acting skills are on full display and he will break your heart at the end of the show.”
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Jill Wagner
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“Working Taylor can be scary as shit. I will say this: If you’re prepared, it’s the most amazing thing in the world. God forbid if you’re not prepared. He will roll over you. But you know what he does? He makes you better. He tests you. He tests every limit of you and he makes you better,” explained Wagner, also an executive producer on the show.
Of Sheridan’s work as an actor this season, she said, “Honestly, is there anything Taylor can’t do? That’s the question in our industry. I like this season and how it’s close to home. There are a lot of issues at play and I love the way Taylor approaches them. I think it’s going to hit people a little differently because it’s right here. Some of the scenes were hard to act in and I think they will be hard to watch for viewers, but it’s necessary for people to think about these things. The words that Taylor wrote and the issues he will make people think about and sit with are so important. I remember we were shooting one scene and I looked over and [LaMonica Garrett] had tears in his eyes. That said everything to me.”
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Austin Hebert
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“I love working for Taylor. I love it. He’s a very genuine person, and the first thing he leads with when coming into the room is his work ethic. He creates a world that is so rooted in reality that when you’re on set, you kind of just lower your head and disappear into the work. You don’t think about it too much. He’s already created everything you need to do the job. You step in and follow his lead.
The best note that he’s given me is, ‘Don’t think about it. It’s there.’ He has such an affinity for actors because he is one himself in addition to being a writer, director and creator. I’ve done a film with him before — he starred in 12 Strong, which I was in as well — and he’s so great to act with. He’s pretty explosive in his scenes [in Lioness]. He obviously has a brilliant mind that he’s shown through his films Hell or High Water and Sicario, and on TV with Yellowstone and that universe, but he’s just as brilliant to work with as an actor. He becomes your equal in a scene and he’s just really fun.”
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Jonah Wharton
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“You better be prepared and ready, and then just go. He’s just going to go. He is into the camera’s rolling, and you not knowing whether it’s on you or not on you. You don’t know if it’s your close-up or if it’s a not, just go. He has so much fun doing this that, to me, it’s infectious. It’s all about his attention to detail, which he has because he is also an actor. He wants you to know what the situation is that you’re in so that you know the script and story so well that any time, you can just be real with it. When the camera starts rolling, whatever happens happens. I might not even be saying the written lines because he might say, ‘Hey, ad-lib the hell out and just go.’ What’s most important is that he wants it to be real. As an actor, that’s what I want more than anything, too. It keeps you on your toes.
As an actor in this season, he has such a good presence, such a strong presence that is so commanding. It was cool. He brings such a natural presence to his acting and it shows in the writing as well. It’s all so real. There’s nothing fake about it. So much so that when you’re acting, it makes you forget that the cameras are rolling.”
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Hannah Love Lanier
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“Working with Taylor is great. I mean, he will really pull it out of you. He is so incredibly sweet and kind. There was one moment when he sat me down, and it was such an inspiration and so flattering. He said, ‘I hope you’re as proud as your work last season as I am.’ That really was just an acknowledgement of my work and a way for him to tell me that what I’m doing is good enough. That encouraged me to continue this path and push forward in the industry. There are moments when I’m saying a line a certain way or with a certain tone, and Taylor will give me a tiny tweak that may seem insignificant at the time but it makes such a big difference in the scene. It has led me to catch those things in the future and gives me a way to learn.”
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David Lemanowicz, Executive Producer
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“This is Taylor’s show. He runs the show. He wrote it this year and did a ton of directing. I’m a former hockey player, and he reminds me of some of the hockey coaches that I had. He’s very professional. He’s very serious. He’s a task master who expects everybody to show up prepared when it’s game time. He’s incredibly decisive. He knows what he wants. Sometimes we only do one or two takes with Taylor. He’s got a vision and knows when it’s executed in front of him, so he doesn’t need to do it again. [Having him on camera this season] adds a completely new dimension to the show. To be able to see that manifest on the screen just makes us feel that much more proud of the project.”
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James Jordan
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“When I was out there struggling as an actor, which 99.9 percent of us are, you’re just trying to find a writer, a creator of worlds in which you can fit. I saw Sicario in August 2015, because who doesn’t love Josh Brolin? Who doesn’t love Denis Villeneuve? I literally walked out of the theater and called this man standing right next to me, [my manager Jamie Freed], to say, ‘Who wrote this?’ He said, ‘Taylor Sheridan.’ I ended up working with him on Wind River and the rest is history. He’s a fantastic asset to this business, to culture, to Western culture, to storytelling, to American storytelling. It’s been nothing but a blessing to me personally. He shows up on set and he simply says, ‘Say the words. Hit your mark. Keep your eyes open. Tell the truth.’ His biggest direction to actors and to me is that if you’re struggling in a scene, he will walk up to you and look you right in the eye. ‘All you have to do is tell the truth,’ he says. ‘The words are there. Get out of the way of the writing, and tell the truth.’ It’s really a blessing.”
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Lioness releases new season two episodes Sundays on Paramount+; the first two episodes are now streaming. Read THR‘s chat with Dave Annable.
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