Nicole Kidman on ‘Multitasking’ Filming ‘Lioness’ & Parenting 2 Teen Daughters (Exclusive)

“Lioness” stars Nicole Kidman and Zoe Saldaña chatted with “Extra” about what’s in store for viewers of Season 3 of the Taylor Sheridan spy thriller.

Saldaña plays CIA senior case officer and station chief Joe, who runs the female undercover operatives program Lioness under her supervisor Kaitlyn, played by Nicole.

What is Joe facing this season? Zoe shared, “The ultimate challenge. You know what happens when you play with fire is that… you may very well light your house on fire or your ferns on fire… The stakes are really high for her.”

She said of Joe's relationship with Kaitlyn, “She works under a woman that she truly admires… She never wants to let this woman down. She believes in the same ideals that this woman, that Kaitlyn believes in, and it causes her to meddle in a world that is of extreme danger and danger is coming and knocking on her door, unfortunately.”

Kidman recalled how she was initially going to be a producer on the show, but a conversation with Sheridan changed all that.

She told him, "I've always loved this world, the espionage world, and I've never actually played anything in this genre.”

Kidman said Sheridan asked, “Would you want to be in it?”

She recalled telling him, “Yeah, in a supporting capacity, that would be amazing because I have both my girls in school right now and I can’t be, you know, 24/7.”

Nicole said, “So, he came up with Kaitlyn. He goes, ‘I think I've got something. I'm going to write you something.’ And I read it and I went, ‘Oh, wow.’ And then I remember talking to him about it and him explaining her mindset and the type of person that she was, and I was hooked. Hooked. She is unbelievably bad-ass.”

Certain aspects of Kaitlyn have carried over into her personal life.

She said, “There's sort of a discipline to this character that then I can apply to my life. So,it’s almost like it’s Method acting in that regard where I go, ‘Okay, I can be as compartmentalized as she is,’ and I can do it. It’s weird. You know, other roles I've done, no, it’s all so blurry.”

Saldaña gushed over the solidarity among the co-stars, who train together, go to concerts, ride horses, and even spent Thanksgiving together. She pointed out, “Nicole would [have joined us] if she was there, but as soon as Nicole finishes, she flies home to her family.”

Kidman shared, “I go home to my family. I've got a one child in junior year and one who’s a freshman. So, I was like, ‘Okay, I got to be there taking care,’ you know? Multitasking, right?”

Zoe also explained the importance of their characters, saying, “Joe represents, and so does Kaitlyn, a community of women that since the beginning of our nation, they have actively participated in pursuing the greater good for their country and they are extremely patriotic, and yet we don’t have enough stories about women that are actively in service… I’m extremely grateful that we just get to honor them in in some capacity.”

“Lioness” returns August 2 on Paramount+.