Actress Zoe Saldaña revealed what it’s like working with one of the most successful television creators in Hollywood, saying that Taylor Sheridan is firm but practical.
The “Lioness” star said she’s forced to bring her A game to every project. “So working with him is a challenge in the sense that he does raise the bar,” Saldaña told People magazine in a recent interview . “And you have one of two choices. You either accept the challenge and make sure that you don’t f*** up … or you quit.”
“And I like being challenged,” she continued, “I really do.”
Sheridan is one of the most sought-after creators in the industry, with hits including “Yellowstone,” “Lioness,” “Landman,” “Tulsa King,” “Mayor of Kingstown,” and several popular “Yellowstone” spinoff projects.
“Lioness,” also known as “Special Ops: Lioness,” is a spy thriller series on Paramount+ inspired by a real-life U.S. military engagement program. It follows a secretive CIA operations team that recruits female operatives to infiltrate terrorist organizations by getting close to the targets’ wives, daughters, or girlfriends.
“It’s actually great,” Saldaña told People about working with Sheridan. “When you work with him is when you realize how passionate he is about actors and about acting. I think it is his first love when it comes to the arts.”
“He’s an incredibly smart person. He’s very curious about government affairs, and he seeks out information and education based on that curiosity,” she went on. “And then he writes these incredibly elaborate shows that end up really educating us as well.”
The hit-making creator is known for his unusual approach to TV making, which he says includes “rage-bait[ing]” critics. Sheridan said he doesn’t really care about winning awards.
“I knew when I started writing [I wanted] to simply not do what everyone else was doing,” Sheridan said during a podcast interview earlier this year.
“What everyone else was doing was taking shortcuts, essentially breaking all the very basic fundamental rules of storytelling, because they couldn’t figure out their story. With a movie, you’re supposed to show me what’s happening. The camera is supposed to move the story. The dialogue is supposed to tell me how the people in this world feel about what’s happening or what they hope to do or what they wish they hadn’t done or had done.”
He added, “The critics and me … I don’t care what they think, and it annoys the sh*t out of them that I don’t care. I’ll be the first to tell you that there are things that I do that rage-bait them a bit … F*ck ’em, honestly.”
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