dress. Helsa
jewellery. Cartier
Genesis Rodriguez loves to make acting difficult for herself… If it’s not a challenge, she doesn’t want any part of it. Flitting between emotionally draining roles, music video cameos, and red-carpet appearances, Rodriguez has the most fun when she’s able to try on different personas. “[T]hat’s what I aspire to be, the kind of actor that does one genre, and then another, and then another. It fulfils me creatively to find challenges within those genres, so the more different each character is, the bigger the challenge and the harder it is,” she shares. Starting her career in telenovelas, and since working on notable projects like The Umbrella Academy and Big Hero 6, it’s impossible to categorise her into one niche – which only underlines her dynamism.
Her latest role in Taylor Sheridan’s second season of Lioness sees her as the dynamic Captain Josephina “Josie” Carrillo, a helicopter pilot for the US Army tasked with infiltrating her family in Mexico. As her uncle, Alvaro Carrillo, is the leader of the Los Tigres Cartel in Mexico, Carrillo is recruited as this season’s Lioness and has to battle not only the intense and fiery butting of heads with Joe (played by Zoe Saldaña), but coming to terms with her family’s atrocities and betraying them for the greater good. “She has this sense of duty and service to her country and doing right above anything. She’s a very admirable person,” Rodriguez comments.
Sipping coffee in bed over Zoom, she chats to Schön! about losing herself to a scene, going head-to-head with her co-star, and her secret upcoming project.
coat. Christian Siriano
shoes. YSL
jewellery. Cartier
opposite
jacket + dress. SARAWONG
shoes. Kazar Studio
rings. Pyrrha
You’re currently starring as Josephina Carrillo in Lioness. What initially made you interested in the role?
It was something so not like myself, it was such a reach for me, it was such a challenge. She is not like me at all, and honestly, when you get something that scares you, it’s probably a good idea to do it. That’s where you grow as an actor, that’s where you get better, and that’s where you should absolutely jump. That being said, it was so incredibly scary and exciting that I just felt like this would be the one to prove that I could do something different than myself.
She had such a fiery introduction to the show, what was it like to film that scene?
Interestingly enough, that was my audition scene. I shot that with my husband and it was pretty incredible because he was like, ‘No, it has to be bigger.’ I specifically remember his notes, ‘No, it has to be bigger, you have to give it to her and give it to her because you don’t know that she’s your superior, so you’re coming out there like a boss.’ It turned out to be exactly the same in terms of tone, except elevated on the day. When you add coming out of the helicopter, seeing all the Humvee, seeing all the extras, the stakes get higher. And, I swear to you, I lost myself… I lost myself so completely that I forgot where I was. I was just Josie and I was ripping into [Zoe Saldaña’s character] and that was so much fun. For an actor, when you find that freedom in acting, that’s a high that you chase. That day, I went home and cried with happiness, because I was like, ‘Oh my God, I was absolutely free today,’ and that felt so good.
That’s such a beautiful way to see it – I think it can be something that doesn’t happen often. It’s interesting how you took that and came away from it like, ‘Wow, this is such an incredible experience.’ In what ways do you connect to her and how do you use those to better understand her?
I think the similarities between her and me are the way that we push ourselves. She’s the type of person that’s very routined and very hard on herself to do the right thing. She follows a strict routine, which you can see through her physicality and the way that she is. Being a helicopter pilot, there are certain protocols that you have to follow every single day. I thrive in routine – I like meditating in the morning and working out every day – and I feel like a human when I do my little self-care things, so I related to her that way.
What I didn’t relate to her was her sense of family. She separated herself completely from her family for many many years and I don’t think I could do that – no matter what they’re into. She does it because she’s trying to turn a blind eye and not see what’s really going on, but for me, it would be like, ‘What are you doing? Okay, it’s on the low, but I’m still going to see you.’ She has this sense of duty and service to her country and doing right above anything. She’s a very admirable person and there are a lot of service men and women who are like that, who just put duty and service above anything else. It’s just so incredible, the type of people who give themselves this way. I never really thought of them like that and the show put them in the forefront of my mind. I have them in my thoughts all the time. These are incredible people that we’re not talking about… We should be talking about them every second of every day and have them in mind. But, I’m grateful for this job for bringing that to light.
sweater. WAX London
trousers. Rue Sophie
opposite
coat. ANNAKIKI
top. St. Agni
trousers. Rue Sophie
shoes. Kazar Studio
That’s so touching. Speaking of not relating to her in terms of the way she is with her family and finding that difficult, what was the most challenging part of taking on this role?
Everything about it was a challenge. Every single thing. Whether it be the physicality, the emotional life that she has or the discipline, everything about this job was difficult in the best way. I think there’s a before and there’s an after this job. For me specifically, in my life, this changed me. I can look back and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I pushed myself in every aspect of this job,’ and I feel so accomplished. And now, people are liking it, and I get to see people’s reactions to it, so it’s validating. The hard work has seemed to pay off.
It comes across as you put your whole self into the project. It’s almost addicting to watch because you’re like, ‘What’s going to happen next?’
Good! It was like that reading the script, too. Every single time I got a script, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness, how is this going to end for me,’ or ‘What’s going to be next,’ and it was incredibly exciting. The writing was so good. Truly.
It’s cliffhanger after cliffhanger with every single episode but in the best way. That’s certainly my favourite kind of TV show.
The best is yet to come… I’m telling you. The last episode is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on television, to be honest, in terms of subject matter and what we’re doing. I felt like, ‘Woah, I can’t believe that we did that.’ I was very impressed and just in shock and awe, and I was honoured.
When you’re in a scene, being yelled at by your co-star Zoe Saldaña, how do you play off of that energy to create a captivating and emotional performance?
It’s wonderful because that’s the beauty of a scene. The scene could have so many tones and levels and it could go so many ways depending on how your partner is going to do it. That day, we had such little time. We had the Do you love your country? scene first and that wasn’t scheduled in the day due to weather, so that was a curveball. We did that scene first and felt so good about it because it was a curveball for both of us. We really just locked in and were super present with each other and we were able to play.
So, cut to, the next scene on the schedule was this coming out of the helicopter scene. We were already vibing with each other and waiting to see what kind of energy we were going to bring. So, she saw how I was coming out of the helicopter. Nobody knew I was going to yell into her face, and certainly her playing Joe, she was like, ‘Who is this yelling into my face?’ She tried to back away, but Josie kept on coming after her. It was all because of her reaction that it was so intense. Again, that only happens if you have a partner who is ready, willing, and able to be free with you and vulnerable like that. There were a lot of things that were improvised – the falling, a lot of the grabbing, pushing her – that were all a jumble of what we felt in the moment and you see it. You see the messiness and intensity.
There is such palpable energy and chemistry through the screen. In episode 5, we see her struggle with whether she would be able to betray her family when the time comes. When you were portraying this, how did you get into her headspace?
I just put myself in her circumstance and imagined how difficult it would be to do something like this. I think that’s basically how it is. I can’t imagine my family doing something so horrible or being involved with something as horrible as trafficking. It changed her whole life – knowing that information – so she started seeing her father in such a different way. That father figure of hers who was this intelligent, strong, amazing dad, was no longer and that image of him was falling before her eyes. It’s sad, and I just let it play out. It’s just a horrible circumstance that you have to imagine. He did it so beautifully, the man who played my father, Demián [Castro]. He is such a sweetheart of a person that it was lovely to see him be horrendous.
jacket + dress. SARAWONG
rings. Pyrrha
opposite
suit. Elisheva
rollneck. Simple Retro
shoes. Kazar Studio
rings. Pyrrha
Speaking earlier about cliffhangers, episode 5 ended on a major one. What can you share, without spoilers, about the next episode and the evolution of your character throughout the rest of the season?
You see her begin accepting who her father is. I can’t say if she does anything about it or not, because this is the test of who Josie is and we’re going to see it unfold. I will say that Josie starts learning more about herself within the last couple of episodes – of what she is capable of. You see the whole arc of her badassness in the beginning, being tied into this job that she doesn’t want to do, and the fear setting in and then something else takes over for the end. It was a really cool journey to play all the emotions possible, which was very fun for me.
She’s such an interesting, well-rounded character where you get to explore all of these things, like you said, that you would never have thought about beforehand.
Switching gears here, you were also in the music video for Blake Shelton’s song Texas. What was it like getting that call?
It was awesome! I wasn’t expecting that call. I’m such a fan of Blake and he just put out music for the first time in a very long time, so for me to get the call? I was just so honoured. We shot that the day before the premiere [for Lioness]. I just had to be a part of it, and I love the song. I was elated.
How is it going from such an intense project like Lioness to doing a fun little cameo in a music video?
It’s so cool because that’s the whole journey. Right now, I have another job I’m preparing for, in between, and it’s fun to try on all these different lives to morph and dig into. I love that I did that music video because it was something else to try. Then, the very next day, I got to wear a very pretty dress and be on a red carpet. It’s so much fun, truly. And, that’s what I aspire to be, the kind of actor that does one genre, and then another, and then another. It fulfils me creatively to find challenges within those genres, so the more different each character is, the bigger the challenge and the harder it is – and the more fun it is for me to figure it out.
Talking of wearing so many different hats, starting your career in telenovelas and looking back at your other work, how do you feel your acting has evolved?
So much, oh my God, so much. Now, when it comes to the work, it’s all about deepening and making it much more truthful, whereas in the beginning, it was just natural instinctual things. As I got older, I wanted to know more, learn more, and do the best that I possibly could. What works for me is working very hard, rehearsing a lot, and working with different people.
When I have a character, I like exploring all different things. I can go from, ‘What animal is she?’ to breaking down every subtext of each action. Then I throw it off, like, ‘If she were an astro sign, which would she be?’ and bring those characteristics in. Just put everything into the pot and then see what works and what doesn’t. Throw the rest away.
Lastly, do you have any upcoming or exciting projects you can share with us?
Something else is coming. It’s exciting for me because it’s totally different to Josie, so again, it’s the complete opposite. She is very feminine, an intellectual, she uses a bit of her sexuality for things but in a cerebral way, and it’ll be fun to try on for a couple of months and then see what else is next. I am very much looking forward to people watching that as well, but, I thank everyone for watching Lioness and connecting with Josie, it means a lot.
coat. SARAWONG
shirt. Vassia Kostara @ TATA PR Los Angeles
rollneck. Simple Retro
trousers. Monique Singh
boots. HAVVA
rings. Pyrrha
Episodes 1 to 5 of ‘Lioness’ are available to stream, with episode 6 airing tonight on Paramount+.
photographer. Drake Alexander
stylist. Karolina Frechowicz
talent. Genesis Rodriguez
makeup. Samuel Paul @ Forward Artists
hair. Marc Mena @ Exclusive Artists using Great Lengths
interview. Amber Louise
