{"id":614191,"date":"2026-07-31T22:31:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T22:31:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/614191\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T22:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T22:31:11","slug":"zoe-saldana-applauds-taylor-sheridans-writing-of-female-characters-in-lioness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/614191\/","title":{"rendered":"Zoe Salda\u00f1a applauds Taylor Sheridan\u2019s writing of female characters in \u2018Lioness\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zoe Salda\u00f1a<\/a> believes Taylor Sheridan<\/a> wrote the characters in his spy thriller\u00a0Lioness<\/a> to be gender neutral \u2014 and she loves it.<\/p>\n

At the Wednesday premiere of the show’s third season<\/a> in New York City, Salda\u00f1a, who co-stars alongside Nicole Kidman<\/a> as CIA operative Joe McNamara, lauded the Fort Worth-raised showrunner’s writing style.<\/p>\n

“I do believe that Joe could’ve been a man,” Salda\u00f1a said at the event,\u00a0People<\/a> reported<\/a>. She added that Kidman’s character, Kaitlyn Meade, could have been a man and that two male characters \u2014 Byron\u00a0Westfield and Kyle\u00a0McManus \u2014 could have been women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Salda\u00f1a, the show’s characters shine because they don’t necessarily fit into stereotypical gender norms. Their universal appeal is what makes their stories all the more compelling, she said.<\/p>\n

“When you write something so incredible that it kind of defies gender and race, and it’s just about the merit of that human being, I feel like you give yourself the opportunity of a wider range of actors that can come in and sort of vie for that part,” Salda\u00f1a continued. “I have a great deal of respect for men that really know how to write women.”<\/p>\n

Related<\/strong>: ‘Lioness’ Season 3: Everything you need to know ahead of the debut<\/a><\/p>\n

Salda\u00f1a is reprising her role as McNamara for Season 3 of the hit series, navigating a “world where hidden networks, foreign operatives and personal betrayals collide.”<\/p>\n

She almost didn’t take the part, though. Salda\u00f1a revealed<\/a> on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday that she turned Sheridan down “for a year” after he offered her the role.<\/p>\n

“It’s an honor, but it’s also a challenge,” she said. “I didn’t believe in me, but I kept saying this: If Taylor Sheridan believes in you \u2014 someone like Taylor believes in you \u2014 then you have no choice but to believe in yourself.”<\/p>\n

Salda\u00f1a’s love of Sheridan’s writing is part of what convinced her to eventually say yes.<\/p>\n

“He writes amazing worlds,” Salda\u00f1a said on the show. “There’s got to be a reason as to why actors like Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Helen Mirren, Michelle Pfeiffer, Harrison Ford, they all just jump on board every time someone like Taylor Sheridan makes a call. It’s because he writes really rich characters.”<\/p>\n

Related<\/strong>: Hepola: On Billy Bob Thornton, the last of the great American smokers<\/a><\/p>\n

Salda\u00f1a isn’t the only star to vouch for the women in Sheridan’s world. Landman star Ali Larter<\/a> previously defended<\/a> the producer against criticism that his female characters are one-dimensional.<\/p>\n

“It’s just a false narrative,” Larter told\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter in June. “You just don’t see a lot of women in film and television that embrace their sexuality. It just stops at a certain age. I’m always amazed at how shocked people are by it.”<\/p>\n

Lioness has filmed in North Texas since its second season. Scenes for Season 3 were shot in Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton, according to casting calls<\/a> for extras released during production.<\/p>\n

Season 3\u00a0will premiere on Paramount+ on Sunday, Aug. 2.<\/p>\n

Related<\/strong>: How Taylor Sheridan became the TV king of North Texas<\/a><\/p>\n

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