Lioness Is Laysla De Oliveira’s Saturn Return

Laysla De Oliveira isn’t quite as steely as Cruz Manuelos, the undercover operative she plays on Special Ops: Lioness. “She’s a lot more of an observer than I am. A lot less girlypop,” the 34-year-old actor tells Bustle over Zoom from New York, where she’s gearing up for Season 3 press. “It’s been really fun to learn through her perspective and also gain her resilience and her strength.”

Three years into the Taylor Sheridan-helmed spy thriller (which returns to Paramount+ Aug. 2), De Oliveira’s limits are continuously tested as she navigates Cruz’s life on the titular, shadowy CIA team. But as Cruz and company go through it on screen, they’re having a bit of a blast off it — frequently going out for dinner, dancing, and general good vibes. “This group is definitely a work-hard, play-hard group,” De Oliveira says. “We take over Texas.”

That connection has paid off in the work, too — including in an early torture scene, her first-ever with castmate Zoe Saldaña. “I just remember she squeezed my shoulder after we did the first take. She was like, ‘10 out of 10.’ I was like, I’m going home and writing that in my diary.”

Even Nicole Kidman stepped in to help steer a Season 1 scene that required De Oliveira to be quite emotional. “Because of the setups, they were stopping and starting a lot. And Nicole actually kind of took over, and she’s like, ‘Stop doing that. Bring her in,’” she recalls. “She got on the ground with me and shook my hand and stared at me, as if we were going to start a sports match. And I felt her entire energy vibrating through my body.”

Afterward, De Oliveira stepped away to decompress from the heavy scene. “I run down the stairs to let it go, and then I come back up, and Nicole’s at the top of the stairs, and she’s like, ‘Good girl,’” she says. “I’m like, Oh my gosh! This is so crazy. These are people I’ve studied my entire career, and so having that validation is great.”

De Oliveira isn’t new to showbiz — among her previous credits is Netflix’s Locke & Key — but the Toronto native admits that Lioness is a new scale of fandom. “I’ve had so many people who have served [in the military], who haven’t served, who come up to me. A lot of women, a lot of women of color,” she says. “It just fills me with so much gratitude that we were able to make something special enough to touch people’s hearts.”

Her own included. A Capricorn and self-described perfectionist, De Oliveira says she used to only tackle the things she knew she could do really well. But through Cruz, “I proved to myself that not only can I do hard things, I should be open to hard things. Because you never know what’s going to come out on the other side.”

That isn’t to say De Oliveira is all work — perhaps unlike her character, she’s a pro at the art of downtime (best spent with her husband, Jonathan Keltz, her dog Lua, and a good romantasy book). But in this moment of “immense expansion,” as she puts it, she sees herself through a fresh, unbridled perspective.

“I always joke that Cruz is my Saturn return. She really, really is — and she’s also going through her own. We’re experiencing that together,” De Oliveira says. They even share the same short haircut, a time-honored sign of transformation. “Yes, it was for Cruz, but it was also for myself as well ... I absolutely love it,” she says. “I feel sexy. I feel confident. I feel strong. And I feel new.”

Learn more about De Oliveira in her Bustle Booth questionnaire below.

In The Bustle Booth

What’s your coffee order?

An oat milk cappuccino.

What are the saved weather locations on your phone?

Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, Miami, Paris, Milan, and Mykonos. I once heard that keeping the weather for places you’d like to be is a form of manifestation, so those last couple of places are exactly that.

What’s your sign?

Capricorn sun, Libra rising, Pisces moon.

Favorite overused movie quote?

It’s not a movie, but I’m absolutely obsessed with Love on the Spectrum. I’m such a fan of Dylan and Logan, now I say “Interesting, per se” all the time.

What was your favorite cartoon as a kid?

I’m not sure if it counts, but Lizzie McGuire. She basically raised me.

What’s one movie or TV show you’re currently obsessed with?

I recently watched The Testaments and loved it. They filmed it in my hometown. Everyone was fantastic on the show, but particularly for me, it was special to see how it showcased so much fresh new talent from back home.

Who is your celeb idol?

The people I work with are genuinely my idols, but I’d also have to add Anne Hathaway to that list. I dream of one day working with the Princess of Genovia herself.

If you had to be on a reality TV show, what would it be?

If Kris Jenner called, I’d have to say yes. Keeping Up With the Kardashians was the first reality show I ever watched because my best friend, who was living with me at the time, was a die-hard fan. It sparked so much joy for us.

Go-to karaoke song?

I have a genuine fear of singing in public, but it would go one of two ways: Taylor Swift or Lil Wayne. It’s all about range.

What’s something that’s inspiring you lately?

The idea of imagining the best that could happen instead of constantly preparing for the worst. It’s such a simple mindset shift, but it’s been a powerful one.

What is something you would want people to say about you?

That when they were with me, they felt seen, heard, celebrated, and hopefully got a few good laughs in.