Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians Of The Galaxy) originally turned down Taylor Sheridan’s (Yellowstone, 1883) offer to star in the Paramount+ series Special Ops: Lioness. But, year later, she decided to take the plunge and accept the role of Joe, a CIA operative who leads undercover female operatives in infiltrating terrorist cells. Saldana sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss her decision to accept the leading role and the series as a whole.
Saldana talked about how her lack of self-confidence led her to turn down the role. “And that came at a time in my life where I just wasn’t prepared to hear it,” she said. “I didn’t really have that much faith in myself. I also felt a little stuck, and a lot of us can relate to that. So I said, ‘No, thank you.’ But a year later, I finished a project for Netflix, I was in Italy and my husband said to me, ‘Just call and see where he’s at with the project.’ So I did, and Taylor still hadn’t cast it. They were still waiting for me, and then I decided to take that leap. I was like, ‘Well, what if I have it in me to be a part of a Taylor Sheridan show and do a good job?’”
Saldana also talked about what kind of character Joe is. “I think I needed to have her intentions very clear in my mind,” she said. “For me, she’s a straight shooter. She’s clean. There’s nothing dirty about what Joe does. If Joe goes off the grid, it’s because she’s going to do the right thing and save people. She’s incredibly responsible. So that needed to be very clear because you can play poker face for the sake of just looking mysterious and unreadable, or you can know why you’re being reserved.”
Saldana also plays Gamora in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3, and one of the elements she talked about is how grateful she was for all of the big roles she had with powerful writers and directors. “I feel grateful that they see something in me and believe in me, in moments where I can’t believe in myself,” she said. “I love what I do. I try really hard. I enjoy what I do, and I just try to pick projects that I’d like to watch when I’m not doing my work. These are the kinds of themes and genres and films that I’m exploring, that I’m watching, that I’m giving great reviews on, that I’m criticizing, that I’m rooting for. And so it only makes sense that I stay true to what I love and what I like.”
Special Ops: Lioness releases episodes on Paramount+ on Sundays.