Before he became one of the most successful writers and producers in the history of television, Taylor Sheridan was an actor.
He’s occasionally dipped back into acting in his various TV series, playing Travis Wheatley on “Yellowstone,” and Charles Goodnight in that series’ prequel spinoff “1883.”
More recently, he’s been seen in “Lioness.” In addition to being that series’ creator, Sheridan also plays the recurring role of Cody Spears, a Delta Force team leader who is often called in to assist the CIA’s Lioness program.
Acting With Sheridan Is an ‘Honor’
“Lioness” star Jill Wagner has had the opportunity to act alongside Sheridan via her “Lioness” role as Bobby, a CIA Special Activities Division operative and the team leader for the Quick Reaction Force.
In a new interview with TV Insider, she reveals what it’s like to share scenes with her TV boss.
“I think it’s an honor because he loves this show so much, and he plays Cody to perfection,” Wagner said, insisting that Sheridan was born to play the role.
“I don’t think there’s anybody else that should ever play Cody,” she declared.
Taylor Sheridan Enjoys Acting
Also interviewed by TV Insider was Laysla De Oliveira, who portrays Cruz, a rough-around-the-edges Marine. She likewise finds it a privilege to act alongside Sheridan.
“It’s so fun to play with him as an actor. Anytime you have someone who creates the show, who’s your boss, and then all of sudden, now you have a pure actor-to-actor relationship [it’s great],” she guushed,
“He likes being an actor,” she added.
“When he’s playing Cody, he sits in the actor chair beside the actors,” Oliveira continued. “You think he would go and sit with the director. When he’s being an actor, he wants to be an actor that day. There’s even been days where I ask him questions, and he goes, ‘I’m not the director today!’ He really enjoys it, and it’s really beautiful seeing his joy in that space.”
From Hallmark to ‘Lioness’
ParamountJill Wagner is a familiar face to viewers of the Hallmark Channel, most notably as crime-solving English professor Annie Winslow in the “Mystery 101” movie franchise.
When Wagner, who’s had a lifelong respect for America’s military, learned about the CIA’s female-led “Lioness” program, she realized it would make a great TV show — and a story that hadn’t been told before.
“From that moment on, I knew there was a story to tell,” Wagner explained in an interview with Parade. “It took about five years, but I never gave up.”
During those years, Sheridan’s reputation as a writer and producer had caught fire. She pitched him the concept, and “Lioness” was born.
“Taylor Sheridan was my old acting coach, and I had access to him. Taylor writes in such an honest and raw way. I didn’t want this show to become Barbies with guns. I wanted it to represent the women I knew and respected in the military, and he’s done that brilliantly,” she shared.
As a result, Sheridan wrote the role of Bobby specifically with Wagner in mind, while she also shares credit with Sheridan as the series’ co-creator and executive producer.
“Taylor promised to write me a role that would challenge me as an actress, something I’d never done before. Boy, was he ever right,” Wagner continued.
“The whole reason Lioness came about came from my desire to play a woman in the military,” she added. “Being an executive producer is the cherry on top.”
