TORONTO — For Toronto-born Laysla De Oliveira, it was the sacrifice of her immigrant parents that instilled in her grit and determination – the very qualities that she channels in her new role as a U.S. Marine Raider in a new spy thriller series on Paramount Plus.
In "Special Ops: Lioness," created by "Yellowstone" showrunner Taylor Sheridan and inspired by a real-life U.S. military program, De Oliveira plays Cruz Manuelos, who is recruited to the Lioness team to infiltrate and take down a terrorist group by befriending the daughter of a man linked to the organization.
The series, which premieres on Sunday, is stacked with Hollywood A-listers, including Zoe Saldana, Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. Saldana and Kidman also serve as executive producers on the series.
De Oliveira attended the Toronto premiere of the series last week — before the Hollywood actors' strike was announced — and said she tried to honour her immigrant parents with this role.
"My mom talks about coming to Toronto, and not even knowing that people spoke English here. She was just looking for a better life for herself and really started from ground zero," De Oliveira, whose parents are from Brazil, said in a phone interview. "She met my father here and he tells me the stories when all he could eat was an egg sandwich.
“I just can't believe that they went through all these sacrifices so that the next generation like myself comes along, and I can … pack my bags and move to Hollywood. So I just really tried to honour that fight,” she said.
"But I think that's what's so beautiful about Toronto is that when I went to school, I remember all the kids’ parents were immigrants. I don't think there was a single kid that wasn't."
It was this upbringing that also helped her bond with co-star Saldana, with whom she shares many of her scenes. She said that they've had similar experiences growing up and really connected through that.
“With me and Zoe, because we're both Latin, it was very much that side of our culture. We would be talking about rice and beans. She would oftentimes speak Spanish to me as I'm trying to learn it because it's so similar to Portuguese and I would speak Portuguese back with her. So we leaned into that," De Oliveira said.
The 31-year-old was inspired by Saldana's encouragement of her and other women in the industry, and she aspires to do the same.
De Oliveira began her modelling career at age 14, but always had the acting bug. After studying drama at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts, she began booking TV films. In 2019, she starred in two major projects: the Netflix horror film "In the Tall Grass," based on the novel by Stephen King, and Atom Egoyan's "Guest of Honour," which had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2020, she starred as a series regular on the Netflix series "Locke & Key," playing the show's antagonist.
"Special Ops: Lioness" is a major milestone for the actress, who will be carrying the series on her shoulders alongside Saldana. Playing a rough-around-the-edges character like Cruz was exciting for De Oliveira, who feels it's a departure from her personality.
“Although Cruz’s heart really resonates with me, she's so different from Laysla, the way that she carries herself, the way that she communicates, how she is socially. I was so excited to dive in and explore that and become something entirely different.”
The character taught the actress to recognize her own strength. “I think when it comes to strength, there is great strength in vulnerability as well. That's what's so beautiful about Cruz is that she is someone who has such a tough and strong exterior. But as the show progresses, she'll be in a lot of vulnerable situations and you'll get to see her sensitive side as well.”
De Oliveira had to go through a lot of training for her role.
"This was the first thing that I've had to do that was physically and emotionally demanding for this period of time,” she said, calling the seven-month shoot “a game of endurance.”
She described the opportunity to work alongside Hollywood heavyweights as a dream come true.
"I have all these 'pinch me' moments. I learned so much from them…I feel like I was paid to take a master class and they were so incredibly kind and generous and really cheered me on.”
The show portrays three powerful women at different levels of the military and intelligence program, and De Oliveira credits this for the engaging watch.
“The show has a really great representation of women. We have three power house-type alpha females. I love the relationship they have with each other to create very dynamic chemistry on screen... and they're in a world where we mostly see men."
De Oliveira, who currently lives in Los Angeles, said she loves coming back to Toronto.
“I love representing Toronto, I love being from Toronto, and I love even more than that, that people recognize that we should uplift our community.”
The first two episodes of "Special Ops: Lioness" launch on July 23, and Paramount Plus will roll out additional episodes weekly on Sundays.
— Marriska Fernandes is a Toronto-based entertainment reporter and film critic.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2023.
Marriska Fernandes, The Canadian Press
