Laysla De Oliveira is taking her journey on Paramount+’s Lioness one season at a time. In Season 1, Joe McNamara (Zoe Saldaña) recruits De Oliveira’s Cruz Manuelos as the lioness to take down a billionaire terrorist and war profiteer by getting close to his daughter, Aaliyah (Stephanie Nur). In Season 2, Cruz must navigate her new position on Joe’s QRF team and help guide Josie Carrillo (Genesis Rodriguez) through her own lioness’ journey as they begin to develop feelings for each other. In Season 3, Cruz and Josie live and work together, but they both become consumed with getting Joe back after her shocking abduction.
“I had no idea what I was getting into this season,” said De Oliveira. While De Oliveira loves “getting to do cool shit in action sequences,” she admitted that she loves the scenes that show Cruz’s growth. “Exploring tenderness in Cruz is always such a gift,” said De Oliveira. “I was talking to Karen Kemmerle Taylor [Sheridan] recently, and he said, ‘Cruz is a feral cat with a heart of gold.’ I thought that was perfect.” De Oliveira knows that Josie brings out a “softness” in Cruz that audiences haven’t seen in the character before. “Josie is a safe space for Cruz,” said De Oliveira. “I don’t think Cruz is someone who has felt safe most of her life.”
In the penultimate episode of Lioness Season 3 entitled “Kiss the Girls,” Cruz calls Joe the person who “made her,” which De Oliveira calls Cruz’s “biggest moment in the whole season.” “For her to say it out loud is a big deal,” said De Oliveira. “She’s in such a vulnerable position, wanting to save the person who gave her another shot at life. Joe helped give her life meaning.” Later on in the episode, the QRF team—with some help from Kyle McManus (Thad Luckinbill) and double agent Oleksandra Balakin (Elizaveta Neretin)—rescues Joe. “I love that Cruz takes Joe into the helicopter and just holds her,” said De Oliveira. “You can say to somebody you love them, but sometimes a hug goes a longer way.”
De Oliveira hopped on a Zoom with DECIDER to discuss Season 3, share her thoughts on Cruz’s evolution, and more.
DECIDER: This is your third season playing Cruz on Lioness. Did you have any conversations with creator Taylor Sheridan about her journey this season?
LAYSLA DE OLIVEIRA: I really didn’t. I had no idea what I was getting into this season. I just knew that I’d be doing it again. I was happy to work with my friends and my idols once again. I do think there’s a lot more to be explored with Cruz. If we do get a Season 4, I’m hopeful that there will be some exciting things in store for her.
If Cruz isn’t included in a potential Season 4, fans would riot. She’s the series’ OG Lioness!
[Laughs] I would hope that we get to explore a little bit more of Cruz’s personal life in a future installment. My favorite season of Lioness is Season 1. That’s the season I felt the most artistically fulfilled. If we do get a new season, I would want more scenes to explore Cruz’s growth. At the end of the day, I’m just a little theater school nerd. I love the scenes where the characters talk and develop more. Though I love getting to do cool shit in those action sequences.
Cruz and Josie are fully in a relationship this season, and their connection is really beautiful. Were you excited to show a softer side of Cruz?
I was so excited, and I also wasn’t sure how to do it [laughs]. Cruz laughs this season, and that threw me a little bit. I had to figure out how she laughed. Exploring that tenderness in Cruz is always such a gift. That’s what makes Cruz such a dynamic character. I was talking to Taylor recently, and he said, “Cruz is a feral cat with a heart of gold.” I thought that was perfect.
Whenever we get to explore Cruz’s heart of gold—whether that be in her relationship with Josie or in her care for Joe—it’s always such a treat. Sure, Cruz punches people, and she’s really tough, but she can also have a softness about her. I love getting to show people that side of her.
Why do you think Cruz is so drawn to Josie? It feels like the first real relationship for both of them.
Their relationship is definitely the first adult relationship for Cruz. I don’t know if Cruz has ever lived with a partner before. Sharing space is new to her. What she enjoys and loves in Josie is that she doesn’t have to hide anything. They work together and have experienced similar things. They have the same boss. I can’t imagine the conversations they have when they go home [laughs]. I almost wish there had been a scene after Episode 5 where they discuss what they had to do. That would have been really fun.
Josie is a safe space for Cruz. I don’t think Cruz is someone who has felt safe most of her life. Josie also really sees Cruz and understands her, which allows Cruz to be entirely herself. It’s a completely different type of connection for Cruz. We’ve seen Cruz in love before in Season 1 with Aaliyah, but it was a forbidden love. She also wasn’t able to be fully transparent about who she was. Just like in life, every relationship is different.
I love that you got to act opposite Taylor again this season. What’s he like as a fellow actor?
He’s amazing. He truly loves acting. You’d think he’d be in the director’s chair or in the tent away from the rest of the cast, but that’s not the case. He pulls up his chair beside us and does everything we do. I’ve had days where I’ve tried to ask him questions about upcoming scripts in between scenes. He’ll say: “I’m not the writer today; I’m an actor.” He’s able to sit with his character and enjoy the experience.
I’ve never seen him happier than when he stepped onto our Ukraine set, and it looked the way that it looked. He looked at our set designer, and he was like, “This is the best set you’ve ever built.” He’s truly a kid at a candy store when he’s acting. I love witnessing that joy because acting is really his first love.
That’s nice to hear! I also enjoyed that Cruz got to work more with CIA officer Kyle McManus, almost as his “heavy” in some of those more intense interrogation scenes. Do you think Cruz has aspirations to be a Station Chief like Joe someday?
Yes? [Laughs] I think so. She’d be really good at it, too. Though, that’s up to Taylor. You got to call the boss and see what he’s thinking. Certainly, I think that Cruz has shown some super spy qualities. What I love about her scenes with Kyle is the banter afterwards. We see Cruz laugh at something he says at one point. She really likes working with him, even though she doesn’t want to admit it.
In this week’s episode, we see just how much Joe means to Cruz. At one point, she tells Bobby that Joe “made her.” What were your thoughts on that confession?
That’s Cruz’s biggest moment in the whole season. It’s also a major revelation for Cruz herself. She’d been thinking about it for a while, and for her to say it out loud is a big deal. She’s in such a vulnerable position, wanting to save the person who gave her another shot at life. Joe helped give her life meaning.
Cruz felt a certain way about the Lioness program in Season 1, but as she’s become older and more mature, she’s been able to see what the program is really about. The more she lives in the gray, the more she’s really started to resemble Joe. Cruz now sees how everything connects. Hopefully, that moment will inform Cruz’s evolution in a potential Season 4.
I think it’s important that Cruz and Bobby are the first ones to reach Joe during the rescue mission. Their presence allows Joe to break down. What do you think it means to Cruz to see this raw emotion from Joe?
It was a huge relief to Cruz. She has a big heart, and it pained her to see Joe in such a state. She just wanted Joe to feel better in the moment, which is why she makes the joke about “don’t let my girlfriend see this” as the two hold on to each other. I loved it. The more comfortable Cruz gets, the more she cracks jokes. It might not have been the best timing on Cruz’s part, but she just wanted to make Joe smile.
I love that Cruz takes Joe into the helicopter and just holds her. It’s their first moment of true tenderness. You can say to somebody you love them, but sometimes a hug goes a longer way. She’s showing Joe that she does love her and she does care. It was beautiful to see, especially considering where they came from. I’d argue that Joe has felt love for Cruz since the beginning of their journey together. Joe has always seen a version of herself in Cruz. Now in Season 3, it’s nice for Cruz to catch up and see herself in Joe as well.