Lioness actress Laysla De Oliveira has become somewhat of an accidental action star. “I did not lift a single weight before I booked this part,” she jokes.
During the first season of the Paramount+ spy thriller, the 34-year-old actress’ character, Cruz Manuelos, was mostly undercover. That meant her action sequences, while exhilarating for the actress, were quite minimal. Then along came season two, where her character becomes a Delta Force operator and things get much more hands-on.
“I had to up the workout routine because if you’re not ready, you don’t survive,” De Oliveira tells The Hollywood Reporter on a recent Zoom. Thankfully, for season three of the Taylor Sheridan series, which premiered Sunday on Paramount+, De Oliveira knew what to expect and has been training accordingly. She adds, “It’s such a sensorial experience, and a part of being able to get through the day is being able to have the strength to do so.”
There’s more to these action sequences, which Lioness is chock-full of, than looking comfortable in the scene. Training is needed to even get to the point where one can act. “The reality of the situation is you do it so that you can even hold the weight of the weapons, of the vests, of the helmet,” De Oliveira explains. “[It’s about] learning how to breathe when you have the weight of the vest on your chest, and it’s really, really hot and you have to run.”
