Long before “Lioness” placed Laysla De Oliveira in the world of undercover operations and international threats, the actress briefly stepped into Marvel territory as a light-wielding mutant.
De Oliveira, now known to “Lioness” viewers as strong-willed CIA special forces operator Cruz Manuelos, appeared five years earlier in the second season of Fox’s “The Gifted.” Her character, Glow, was created for television and featured in only three episodes, but the part marked De Oliveira’s first recurring role on TV.
Glow was a kindhearted mutant capable of creating and controlling orbs of light. After being rescued from a mental hospital, she joined the Morlocks, an isolationist community living underground. Her limited storyline also introduced a developing relationship with Eclipse, played by Sean Teale.
A brief stop in the X-Men universe
Set in an alternate timeline, “The Gifted” imagined a world in which the X-Men had disappeared. With the famous mutant team missing, underground communities were left fighting to survive while being pursued by the government.
The show combined science-fiction and fantasy elements with a dystopian setting populated by superhuman characters. Its Marvel Comics connections helped it build a loyal following, while Glow’s unusual abilities and budding connection with Eclipse gave De Oliveira’s character an identifiable place within the ensemble despite her short run.
Season 2 aired from 2018 to 2019. The series did not break through with mainstream television audiences, however, and Fox canceled “The Gifted” after its second season.
De Oliveira’s appearance now stands as an early chapter in a career that continued to include science-fiction and supernatural projects. After “The Gifted,” she also took part in “Locke & Key” and “Code 8,” remaining in genre-driven stories before moving into the markedly different environment of “Lioness” on Paramount+.
From superpowers to undercover danger
Playing Cruz required De Oliveira to adjust to the physical and mental demands of a more grounded political action thriller. Rather than working within stories shaped by mutants, supernatural elements or effects added after filming, she entered a rawer world centered on agents and international threats.
Ahead of the show’s 2023 premiere, De Oliveira said the role challenged her emotionally while offering a different kind of creative reward.
“It’s obviously a lot more emotionally challenging. It also is incredibly artistically fulfilling in a different way,” she said.
She contrasted that experience with the process of making science fiction, where performers may act opposite temporary stand-ins for effects that are completed later.
“What I like about sci-fi is you really see everything come together at the end, you know?” De Oliveira said. “Whether you’re grabbing a tennis ball and they insert a car there or something. This is just so raw and gritty and real that you really do have to go into a heavier place and it becomes a game of endurance.”
That shift makes Glow and Cruz strikingly different points in De Oliveira’s television work. One is a gentle mutant whose light-based powers appeared during a three-episode arc; the other is a special forces operator navigating the sustained emotional and physical pressures of “Lioness.”
What Happens Next?
“Lioness” has not yet received a green light for Season 4. The first three chapters of Taylor Sheridan’s show have already put Cruz through an intense journey, but any further danger for De Oliveira’s character remains only a possibility unless the series continues.