Zoe Saldaña Reveals She and Nicole Kidman ‘Tag Team’ Finding ‘Lioness’ Creator Taylor Sheridan Between Scenes (Exclusive)

The ‘Lioness’ costars tell PEOPLE they often join forces to track down the show’s creator whenever they want to talk through the show’s complex scripts

NEED TO KNOW

• Zoe Saldaña says she and Nicole Kidman “tag-team” finding Lioness creator Taylor Sheridan whenever they want to discuss scenes that aren’t clicking

• Saldaña calls working with Kidman “true joy,” while Kidman praises her costar as “so generous” and “a girl’s girl”

• Saldaña also opens up about her on-set dynamic with Sheridan, calling him “extremely collaborative” and praising the way he challenges his actors

Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman have a secret weapon for tackling Lioness‘ toughest scenes: each other.

The actresses tell PEOPLE they frequently “tag team” in order to track down creator Taylor Sheridan between takes to discuss scenes that “don’t feel like they’re making any sense” — a routine they’ve developed after three seasons starring opposite one another in the Paramount+ spy thriller.

After spending “five or ten minutes” catching up each morning, Saldaña, 43, says the pair head to hair and makeup, where their conversations quickly turn to the day’s work.

“We tag team finding out where Taylor is and seeing if he’s going to call us back because, when we need him, it’s always having to do with the work,” Saldaña says.

For Saldaña, that collaboration is just one example of why she’s come to admire Kidman so much.

“It’s wonderful because I respect her so much,” she says. “Nicole… I admire her. She’s an incredibly talented woman, but what she is first and foremost, what I love the most, is she’s a mother. She’s a daughter. She’s a sister. She’s a friend.”

“And she plays all of those roles beautifully,” Saldaña continues. “And she does it with so much love and unconditional support. That’s admirable. So everything about working with Nicole has been true joy.”

Kidman, 59, is just as complimentary of her costar.

“I just love her,” the Oscar winner tells PEOPLE. “She’s just so fun, and she’s so generous, and a girl’s girl.”

“So you get this kind of… we come into work, but then we have so many other things that we rely on,” she continues. “So the work is here, but then we have all this.”

Their teamwork comes in handy on Lioness, where Sheridan’s military and intelligence-heavy scripts are packed with technical jargon and fast-moving dialogue that requires extensive preparation from the cast.

Earlier this year, Kidman revealed that she even has a team of researchers help her understand the show’s dense CIA terminology before filming.

“We have to understand every single thing we’re saying,” she previously told PEOPLE. “It has to come trippingly off your tongue. You have to understand everything, and it has to be [like it’s] something that you are using as everyday language all the time.”

She added that preparing for the series is “like suddenly doing a thesis in the CIA,” explaining that she, Michael Kelly and Morgan Freeman regularly run lines together, stopping to define unfamiliar terms before shooting.

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Saldaña has also spoken about the challenge of mastering Sheridan’s dialogue, previously telling PEOPLE that the role helped her confront both her dyslexia and anxiety because of the preparation required.

Working directly with Sheridan has only deepened her appreciation for his process.

“It’s actually great,” Saldaña says of having the Yellowstone creator as both a writer and scene partner. “When you work with him is when you realize how passionate he is about actors and about acting. I think it is his first love when it comes to the arts.”

“He’s an incredibly smart person. He’s very curious about government affairs, and he seeks out information and education based on that curiosity,” she continues. “And then he writes these incredibly elaborate shows that end up really educating us as well.”

According to Saldaña, Sheridan constantly challenges the actors to elevate their performances.

“So working with him is a challenge in the sense that he does raise the bar,” she says. “And you have one of two choices. You either accept the challenge and make sure that you don’t f–k up… or you quit.”

The actress adds, “And I like being challenged. I really do.”

She says what may surprise people most, however, is how collaborative he is once those conversations begin.

“When he knows that you care, when he knows where you’re coming from, when you know exactly what it is that you want to talk about, he meets you where you’re at,” Saldaña says. “He’s very collaborative.”

“And I love collaborating with Taylor because I love his mind. I like his art. I like his writing. And I like playing roles that feel wholesome,” Saldaña concludes.

New episodes of Lioness season 3 stream Sundays on Paramount+.