[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Yellowjackets, Season 3, Episode 4, “12 Angry Girls and 1 Drunk Travis."]Tawny Cypressis an absolute powerhouse onYellowjackets. In fact, Cypress was so immediately captivating in the hit Showtime and Paramount+ series that I frequently caught myself wondering, how have we not been getting a steady stream of Tawny content for years now?
Cypress’ first main role on a TV series was playing Simone Deveaux inHeroes, but that run only lasted one season. After that, it wasUnforgettableon CBS, but Cypress jumped into that one when the show was already in its second season. Next up was a main role inThe Blacklist: Redemption, but again, that foundation had already been built pror to Cypress’ involvement because, of course, it was aThe Blacklistspin-off. Cypress needed more, and she deserved more. In fact, she wished for just that. “I want a really good show. I want the best job I’ve ever had, and I want it to be good, and I want it to last.” That wish was granted. It wasYellowjackets.
Cypress stars as the present day version of Taissa Turner, played in the 90s bypast Ladies Night guestJasmin Savoy Brown. At the start of the series, Cypress’ Taissa is running to become a New Jersey state senator. However, when her past in the wilderness catches up with her, Taissa starts to unravel, threatening her chances of winning the election. Shocking many, including herself, Tai wins the race, but at that point it’s too late. The wilderness has firmly dug its claws back into the surviving Yellowjackets, reuniting Taissa with Van (Lauren Ambrose), and then bringing the whole (?) group back together at Lottie’s (Simone Kessell) compound to sort through the wealth of complications the 1996 plane crash left them with as adults. Their get-together concludes with an especially twisted hunt, one that results in Natalie’s (Juliette Lewis) demise. When Season 3 kicks off, forget politics. Taissa has narrowed her focus to one thing and one thing only, keeping Van alive - even if she has to turn to the wilderness to do so.
WithYellowjacketsSeason 3, Episodes 1-4 now available to stream on Paramount+, Cypress swung by theCollider Ladies Nightstudio to discuss her journey toYellowjackets, and offer some insight into the most powerful and cryptic moments of Season 3 thus far.
Tawny Cypress Has the Most Incredible ‘Yellowjackets’ Casting Story
“I’m gonna tear up saying this.”
When you look at a show likeYellowjackets, it’s abundantly clear that it’s a magical project for all involved. In fact, I’d dubYellowjacketsone of the best cast shows of all-time.
The series being a uniquely special opportunity wasn’t lost on Cypress. When looking back on first scoring her role, she said, “It was pretty amazing,” and launched into one of the most incredible stories about the unforgettable experience that seemingly led to her casting:
“I was out of work for a long time, and it was very scary.I would wake up in the middle of the night and cry and be so terrified of what was gonna happen. One day, out of nowhere, my aunt texted me on my father’s side and said, ‘Tawny, baby, call me.’ I was like, ‘Oh geez, she wants something.’ So I called her up, and she said, ‘Hey, your grandmother wants you to talk to her,’ and my grandmother’s been dead for, gosh, 20 years now. She said, ‘Your grandmom is worried about you. She wants you to talk to her.’ I didn’t even question it. I was like, ‘Okay.’ She said, ‘She wants you to tell her what you want and make it big.’ I’m gonna tear up saying this. I just was like, ‘Okay.’ I happened to own my grandmother’s piano. I inherited it after she passed. So in the middle of the night, when I would wake up and start crying, I would go downstairs to the piano, and I’d sit down, and I’d leave room for my grandmom next to me, and I just tell her, I’d say, ‘I want a show. I want a really good show.I want the best job I’ve ever had, and I want it to be good, and I want it to last.’ Like a month later, I got this show.”
Tawny Cypress & Lauren Ambrose’s Top Goal for Tai & Van Was to Honor What Jasmin Savoy Brown & Liv Hewson Created
“We have a beautiful story to tell.”
Yellowjacketsfeatures on-screen pairings for the ages. Truly, every single 90s and present day combo is utter perfection. What’s especially impressive about these collaborations is that, in each case, yes, the characters must feel like the same person, but they also must feel like individuals who’ve been wholly changed by their experience in the wilderness.
Here’s what Cypress said when asked if there’s a scene of Brown’s that she finds influencing her own work as Taissa:
“The abortion scene is one of my favorite moments for her. I mean, it’s a horrible scene, but the tenderness she has. It’s hard for me to take things from what she’s doing with the character because the character’s become so narcissistic in her old age. She is very selfish. She was kind of selfish then, but actually,she was very much everybody’s friend. That’s what I see when I look at what Jasmin’s doing. She was always there. I remember she was the one asking why Jackie was out in the cold. She was very much that.My Taissa is not that at all. She’s the opposite. Everything she does is for herself.”
In addition to the 90s and present day pairings,Yellowjacketsalso has some top-tier couples in both timelines. With all due respect to Misty (Christina Ricci) and Walter (Elijah Wood), Shauna (Melanie Lynskey) and Jeff (Warren Kole), Shauna (Sophie Nélisse) and Melissa (Jenna Burgess), and then some, it’s Taissa and Van that melt the most hearts in both timelines.
After spending Season 1 falling head over heels for the Tai and Van connection in the 90s, Season 2 delivered one of the series’ most epic moments - Tai and Van’s reunion in the present day, with the introduction ofLauren Ambroseas adult Van. Cypress knew she and Ambrose would be the perfect pairing for the roles the moment they filmed their first scene together:
“From the very first moment, walking into the video shop. It was so exciting for me. You’re right. What Jasmin and Liv [Hewson] did with that storyline, with those characters, with that love, we made a decision immediately, Lauren and I, to honor that.All we want to do is honor what Jasmin and Liv have established, and it’s been a friggin’ thrill, actually. We have a beautiful story to tell. But, yeah, that first moment walking into the video store, it was great. I was sohappy. I felt like, ‘Yes! I’ve got this great storyline and a great scene partner for however long we get to do this.’”
Tawny Cypress Warns The Other Is Coming in ‘Yellowjackets’ Season 3
“After this season, you’re gonna go back to Seasons 1 and 2 and realize that you saw Other Tai a lot more often than you thought.”
Taissa’s love for Van seems undeniable, but her life is riddled with complications that could threaten what appears to be the one and only rock in her work. One biggie on that list? The Other.
At this point, we’ve seen numerous instances when a switch flips in Taissa and turns her into Other Tai. However, we still don’t know much about this other version of the character. What sparks the switch to Other Tai? What does Other Tai want? Season 3, in particular, seems to be teeing up this particular question quite heavily; how do we tell the difference between Taissa and The Other? Cypress teased, “I feel like after this season, you’re gonna go back to Seasons 1 and 2 and realize that you saw Other Tai a lot more often than you thought.”
Based on the next part of Cypress’ tease, it seems we could see a lot more of Other Tai going forward, too.
“I think we’ve established that The Other wants the same things that Taissa wants but has a different way of going about it, and she thinks she can do a better job than Taissa, sowe’re gonna see her basically kick Taissa out and sort of run the showfor a while, and it’s going to be fun.”
Taissa Is Ready to Kill for Van If She Must
“It’s an aching love.”
If you’re wondering what Tai and Other Tai want, the answer to that question might have popped up during a different part of this interview with Cypress. While discussing Season 3, Episode 3, we zeroed in on the scene when Van comes home and tells Tai that she might be in partial remission. After that, Tai tells Van about the waiter’s fate and says, “The waiter was the sacrifice and your new prognosis, well, that’s the gift.” Here’s what Cypress said when asked about pinpointing the right tone for that particular line delivery:
“I think that Tai, this season, will do anything to keep her love alive, and she’s ready to believe.She will kill for this girl and is ready.It was really just an excitement. It was the bubbly excitement that she’s feeling about what’s going on with her and keeping this girl. There’s a chance!”
We almost saw Taissa make due on Cypress’ statement in Episode 4. After trying to encourage the wilderness to choose via the queen of hearts, Taissa and Van follow an unsuspecting man back to his apartment, presumably to kill him as another sacrifice. While Taissa is ready and eager to walk right in, insisting the open door is a sign, Van manages to stop her during a conversation that absolutely sizzles. It marks yet another example of Cypress and Ambrose’s chemistry electrifying a scene. Cypress recalled:
“I loved it. It was a long day, so we were done. We were tired, actually. [Laughs] But we definitely are looking for the moments where the love is palpable, and that’s one of them - that moment where they look at each other before Taissa closes the door and moves on to her next idea. It’s anachinglove, andI definitely believe that that’s one of the moments that was indicative of that aching love.”
Dark Material Doesn’t Stop ‘Yellowjackets’ From Being a Joy to Make
“In that moment, I thought about how lucky I am and how great this is.”
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I’m rooting for that aching love. What I’d give to see Taissa and Van walk off in the sunset together. But, time and time again,Yellowjacketssuggests that most, if not all, of these characters aren’t heading toward a happily ever after.
However, dark storylines certainly do not dictate the vibe on set. In fact, toward the end of our chat, Cypress stressed the great joy she’s experienced makingYellowjackets:
“Everybody behind the scenes really does love this project, and they bring their absolute best to this show, which is so appreciated. I love being around all of them all day. They make work so much fun. But at the end of Season 2, when we’re at Lottie’s compound, there’s a point where we’re standing around the bar, and we’re drinking and just shooting the shit. In fact, I don’t think we have any actual lines in this particular scene I’m thinking of. You can hear muddled voices. It was so late at night, and after about 11:30pm, Juliette [Lewis] turns into a 14-year-old boy, and it’s all like dumb jokes, juvenile things. We had so much fun. It was laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, laugh, andin that moment, I thought about how lucky I am and how great this is, and how much fun it is at four o’clock in the morning in the freezing cold.”
Eager to hear even more from Cypress about what’s gone down inYellowjacketsSeason 3 thus far? Be sure to check out our full conversation in the video at the top of this article, or you can listen to the interview in podcast form below:
Yellowjackets
A wildly talented high school girls' soccer team become the unlucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the Canadian wilderness.
YellowjacketsSeason 3, Episodes 1 - 4 are now available to stream on Paramount+.
