Jill Wagner on Taylor Sheridan’s Tough ‘Lioness’ Direction: ‘He Forces You to Run Into the Fire’

Taylor Sheridan keeps his Lioness stars on their toes, and Jill Wagner learned that firsthand while filming season 3.

The actress, 47, revealed that Yellowstone creator Sheridan, 56, gave her just 10 minutes to relearn a complicated season 3 scene using her left hand after she and costar Laysla De Oliveira had already rehearsed it another way, according to a People report published Monday, September 7.

“I won’t say that anything was so physically draining for me this season because I do think this season is a bit more cerebral,” Wagner said, per the outlet. “But I will say there was one day that Laysla and I were trying to get this entrance into the house. Cruz and Bobby have to come in and clear the room, and we were having difficulties with some of the angles.”

Wagner stars as Bobby, the leader of a special operations team who works alongside CIA case officer Joe McNamara, played by Zoe Saldana. De Oliveira, 34, portrays Cruz Manuelos, a Marine who becomes a CIA operative.

According to the article, Wagner and De Oliveira had learned the sequence one way when Sheridan stepped in shortly before filming and decided to change how Wagner performed it.

“Ten minutes before we roll, he comes in and says, ‘No, I think you should switch arms. Transition your weapon to your left arm,'” Wagner said. “And I was just like, ‘Hmm … okay. Help me.'”

Wagner managed to master the last-minute adjustment and was pleased with how the scene turned out.

“Ultimately, we worked it out, and it’s probably going to be one of my favorite moments,” she said, per the report.

Wagner is also familiar to reality TV fans as the longtime on-location cohost of ABC’s Wipeout, where she interviewed contestants as they tackled the show’s over-the-top obstacle courses.

De Oliveira said working with Sheridan means never knowing when he might switch things up.

“That’s the coolest thing about working with Taylor. He can change things on the spot,” she said, according to the report. “You have to have your head on a swivel and be able to do that.”

The experience has also given De Oliveira more confidence in what she can handle as an actress.

“Once you go through that experience, you really leave the set thinking, ‘Wow, I can do anything,'” she said, People reported. “If you can pick that up, then you go onto another set and think, ‘Well, this one time I did everything with my left hand even though I’m right-handed.’ So it’s a great opportunity for us.”

According to the article, Wagner summed up Sheridan’s directing style saying, “He forces you to run into the fire. He really does.”

Sheridan will also be back in front of the camera during season 3 as Cody Spears. Wagner praised his performance, particularly in the season premiere.

“I think what people are going to see in this show — specifically this season, in episode one — is that he’s a really good actor,” she said, the outlet reported. “He really is.”

Wagner continued, “I even told him, ‘This is your best acting you’ve ever done.’ And I think multiple people have said it… He kind of just shook it off. But he’s so talented, and we’re lucky to have him.”