James Jordan is one of the most recognizable faces in the Taylor Sheridan universe. Fans have seen Jordan play a wide array of characters over the years, but his role as Two Cups on Lioness holds a special place in his heart. “One of the things almost every actor of my generation did growing up was play army,” said Jordan. “Now, I get to play it for real every day.” As a CIA operative on Joe McNamara’s QRF team, Two Cups has seen a lot of conflict, but his current mission has never been this personal. After McNamara gets taken outside her home by Russian agents, Two Cups and his teammates must spring into action to bring her home.
Though the origins of Two Cups’ nickname are no secret—his character got that moniker after drinking “two cups of something” in Thailand that made him try to “fuck everything”—audiences are seeing new sides of Jordan’s beloved character this season. In this week’s episode entitled “The Idiot Army,” Two Cups goes undercover at a strip club to appear as a target that Russian assets can blackmail into working for them. Jordan points out that this is classic work for “shadow warriors” like him. “Two Cups has gone down this road before,” said Jordan. “That particular objective was nothing new to him.”
Even though Lioness and creator Taylor Sheridan were once again snubbed by the Emmys, Jordan and his compatriots could care less. “We have millions and millions of people showing up every week and tuning in,” said Jordan. “I think that’s the biggest trophy you could ask for.” More important for Jordan is honoring the men and women who serve and protect our country every day. “We take our work very seriously because the onus is on us to get this right,” said Jordan. “It’s exciting to learn a little bit about what these folks do out there to guard us while we sleep every night.”
Jordan hopped on a Zoom to chat about the latest season, discuss Two Cups’ origins, and more.
DECIDER: This season of Lioness feels different because now—more than ever—the war has come home. Did Taylor Sheridan say anything to preface this season or does he prefer to let the scripts speak for themselves?
JAMES JORDAN: We don’t know a thing until that script comes to our inbox. In the first season, the fight took us to sea. The second season, the fight took us through the air. We had a feeling that in the third season the fight was going to come home. Sure enough, the battle comes to Joe’s front door.
The QRF is full of eccentric personalities, but Two Cups stands out. Have you and Taylor discussed his backstory? We all remember the origin of his nickname…
I’m so glad you mentioned his backstory. I was in the airport the other day, and this lovely couple came up to me, and they go, “Boy, we’re big fans of the show, but we got to ask: How did your character get the name Two Cups?” I go, “Well, since you’re big fans, we talk about it in the very first episode!” [laughs] Then they go, “We’ve got to go back and watch that!”
In all seriousness, Taylor and I didn’t discuss much of the back story. He left a lot up to my and the audience’s imagination. We don’t see Two Cups or really anybody from the QRF outside of their sphere. That’s helped bring our audience closer and enabled them to lean into what this story is and who these people are.
I think it was the great director Mike Nichols who once said something like: “You don’t want to tell the audience everything about a character. You want to allow them to use their own imagination to fill in those blanks because then they feel personally, emotionally invested in these people and what happens to them.” I’ve done that as an actor and as a viewer myself, so I know it to be the truth. I do, however, have a whole backstory in my head about where Two Cups is from and how he got to where he is today, but there’s no fun in sharing that.
What I love most about this season is that the QRF team is really getting involved in these missions. They’re going undercover, etc. What excited you the most about exploring new sides of these characters?
The QRF team does feel tighter this season, but their mission is far more personal because of Joe’s abduction. They took one of our own, and they took her from her home. These folks are willing to—instead of just kicking down doors as we’ve done in the past—take the risk of going undercover. They’re willing to commit illegal, questionable actions in an effort to accomplish their mission, which is getting Joe back.
In this episode, Two Cups goes undercover to make contact with a lady of the night who helps blackmail unsuspecting men into becoming Russian assets. Is this the first time he’s been on a mission like this?
In our story, yes. People like Two Cups are often called “shadow warriors.” A lot of their activity and mission scope takes place in the shadows of our lives. I’m sure Two Cups has gone down this road before. That particular objective would be nothing new to him.
I know Taylor Sheridan doesn’t care about award shows, but I was shocked that only Tulsa King received an Emmy nomination for stunt coordination. Why do you think his projects are continuously snubbed?
I can’t really speak to that. Taylor has to speak for himself in that regard. What I will say is that the proof is in the pudding. We have millions and millions of people show up every week and tune in to whichever one of Taylor’s shows is on. They stick around, and they want to see more. I think that’s the biggest trophy you could ask for.
It’s a real blessing. I love telling these stories. We’re about to start the next season of Landman here in about a month. I get messages on Instagram every day asking about Landman. We know that the audience cannot wait. We’re going to get to work on that and try to get it out as soon as we can.
You are one of Taylor Sheridan’s favorite players. How does Lioness fit into the scope of your work within his universe? What makes it stand out?
It’s funny. One of the things almost every actor of my generation did growing up was play army. Now, I get to play it for real every day. My eight-year-old self can’t believe what he gets to do on set.
It’s also really exciting to learn a little bit about what these folks do out there to protect us and guard us while we sleep every night. It’s extraordinary. We have a fantastic group of technical advisors who have worked in these worlds. To learn the skill sets for these men and women—though they’ve been abbreviated and condensed for us—from them is such an honor.
Is there a responsibility or pressure felt on set to represent these men and women on screen the way they deserve to be portrayed?
We take our work very seriously because the onus is on us to get this right. Since the creation of the CIA post-World War II, these folks have been on the front lines—whether those front lines are in our own backyard or overseas— to keep us safe.
We have a nice seven-to ten-day boot camp every season to get back into the mental and physical shape necessary to bring these characters to life. We have our technical advisors on set with us every day of shooting to make sure that we get every little point right. We’ll do 100 takes if we have to, and we’re not gonna rest till we get it right. We do feel that responsibility; we take it seriously, but boy, it’s a blast to do it.
What can you tease about the rest of this season of Lioness?
Well, the mission is the most important one we’ve had, and we’ve got a long way to go. This is a marathon, not a sprint. We’ll see what happens, but trust that the QRF team is going to do what it takes to bring our girl home. We’ve got another four or five episodes to go here. Stick around.
