Elizaveta Neretin’s arrival in Lioness: Special Ops Season 3 has introduced a compelling new presence to Taylor Sheridan’s intense world of espionage, loyalty and international conflict. But for Neretin, joining the hit series meant far more than simply taking on another acting role. The actress has revealed that the storyline carries a deeply personal significance because of her own family’s connection to both Russia and Ukraine. Playing Oleksandra Balakin, a Ukrainian double agent whose convictions repeatedly put her at odds with Joe McNamara, portrayed by Zoe Saldaña, required Neretin to enter emotionally difficult territory. While audiences see a determined operative fighting for what she believes is right, the actress behind the character was drawing from years of family experiences and stories that made the material feel unusually close to home.

Neretin explained that Oleksandra’s determination is one of the qualities that defines her character, but she also believes that same intensity exists throughout the world of Lioness. Every major character is motivated by personal beliefs, responsibilities and loyalties, and those convictions inevitably collide. Oleksandra is no exception. She fights fiercely for what she believes in, just as Joe does, even when their goals and perspectives place them on opposing sides. That dynamic has helped create tension between Neretin and Saldaña’s characters throughout the season. Rather than approaching Oleksandra as a simple adversary, Neretin appears to have viewed her as someone whose actions make sense from her own perspective, allowing the character’s conflicts to feel more human and complicated.

The most powerful connection between Neretin and her character, however, comes from the actress’s own family history. She revealed that members of her family are still living in both Russia and Ukraine, making the conflict at the center of the storyline something she has experienced from a personal distance for years. Although Neretin is Canadian and has lived in the United States, meaning she is physically removed from the immediate dangers faced by relatives in the region, she has never been emotionally disconnected from what has been happening. Stories, updates and troubling news from family members have continued to reach her for years. Because of that, she did not need to approach the role as someone learning about the situation entirely through research. Much of its emotional reality was already familiar to her.

That familiarity did not necessarily make the role easier. In some ways, it made preparing for Oleksandra more demanding. Neretin said that while extensive research into the emotional circumstances was not always necessary because of what she already knew through her family, preparing herself mentally and spiritually for the material took time. The distinction is important: she was not simply studying an international conflict from the outside but confronting themes that were connected to people she loves. Her decision to accept the role therefore meant opening herself to emotions and memories that could not be treated as purely fictional. That personal preparation helped give Oleksandra’s struggle additional weight while also making Season 3 unlike an ordinary professional assignment for the actress.

Neretin was not unfamiliar with Taylor Sheridan’s work before joining Lioness. She previously appeared in an episode of Mayor of Kingstown in 2021, but her appreciation for Sheridan’s storytelling began even earlier. She has spoken enthusiastically about Sicario, which helped introduce her to his work as a writer, and described the film as excellent. After booking Mayor of Kingstown, she explored more projects associated with Sheridan, including Hell or High Water. She also became familiar with Yellowstone and its expanding universe, particularly enjoying the period-based spin-offs. Her interest in those productions meant that joining Lioness was not simply an opportunity to appear in a successful television series; it also allowed her to become more deeply involved in a creative world she had admired for years.

Another memorable part of the experience was working alongside performers Neretin had watched long before becoming their colleague. Lioness features an established ensemble that includes Zoe Saldaña, Nicole Kidman, Jill Wagner and Laysla De Oliveira, among others. Neretin described the experience of working with such recognizable actors as especially exciting because some of them were performers she had watched while growing up. Instead of allowing that history to overwhelm her, she seems to have embraced the opportunity to observe and work alongside them. Her scenes with Saldaña were particularly significant because Oleksandra and Joe frequently clash, requiring the actresses to create believable tension between two strong characters who refuse to easily surrender their positions.

The production also gave Neretin a new appreciation for an aspect of filmmaking that audiences sometimes overlook: stunt work. The physical demands of Lioness are an essential part of the series, and experiencing that environment firsthand changed how she viewed the performers responsible for creating its action sequences. Neretin admitted that she had not fully understood how extraordinary and demanding stunt performance could be until working closely around it. Seeing the preparation, physical commitment and precision required gave her considerably more respect for stunt actors, as well as for the wider cast responsible for bringing Sheridan’s high-pressure world to the screen. It became another unexpected lesson from a season that was already challenging her on a much more personal level.

Ultimately, Neretin’s experience on Season 3 stands out because her professional opportunity and personal history unexpectedly intersected. Oleksandra Balakin may exist within a fictional espionage drama, but many of the emotions surrounding the character’s world are very real to the actress portraying her. With family members still connected to Russia and Ukraine and years of difficult news forming part of her own life, Neretin approached the storyline with an understanding that could not simply be created through conventional preparation. Accepting the role meant deciding to face emotionally familiar material while working alongside performers she had long admired and within a television universe she already respected. That previously unseen connection explains why Season 3 has become so meaningful to her: behind Oleksandra’s fierce convictions is an actress bringing not only her craft to the role, but also a personal awareness of the human realities reflected in the story.