Judson, UTSA grad Sofie Calderon shares screen with Oscar winner in Special Ops: Lioness

Puerto Rico-born actress Sofie Calderon’s family relocated to San Antonio when she was a kid so she could grow up with the best opportunities in life.

“We had some friends in San Antonio, so we gave it a try,” Calderon, 53, told the Current during a recent interview. “I still love it there. I was just there in July!”

After graduating from Judson High School in 1988 and then earning a business degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio four years later, Calderon was ready to pursue her dreams — although in the entertainment industry instead of the business world.

“The practical side of me was like, ‘Well, maybe you should become a talent agent,’” Calderon said. “But that wasn’t what I was drawn to. I always loved performing. Growing up, I did prose and poetry competitions, and I was on the drill team. So, I decided to take [acting] seriously and go full throttle.”

Currently, Calderon lives in Los Angeles where she’s spent the past two decades working on TV series, including episodes of The Shield, Criminal Minds, Heroes, Shameless, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS and The L Word: Generation Q.

In her latest series, Special Ops: Lioness on Paramount+, Calderon has a small role as Atzi, the housekeeper of a Dallas cartel member under investigation by the CIA. Special Ops: Lioness stars Zoe Saldaña (Avatar) and Oscar winners Nicole Kidman (The Hours) and Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby). It is created and written by Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone).

During our interview, Calderon discussed balancing her career as an actress and business consultant, what kinds of roles she’s looking for and what her experience has been like as an Afro Latina working in Hollywood.

After you graduated from UTSA, did you go into acting right away or did you put your business degree to use first?

I’ve always been a very practical minded person, so I sort of did both. I did my first commercial with Selena. That’s how I got my Screen Actors Guild card. I did that commercial in San Antonio. I immediately got an agent. But I do have a full business resume, and I’ve had my own business for the last 20 years, too. I recruit and consult with nonprofits, education, government, corporations and tech. Los Angeles is expensive to live in. Unless you gotta trust fund, you gotta manage both.

Since you live in LA now, is the audition process for you usually a traditional one?

I’m fortunate to have an agent, and they send me all the work. Things have definitely changed. I mean, 90% of the auditions, they’re no longer in person. Sometimes callbacks are on Zoom. I always tell actors that it’s important to remember that you get to perform when you’re auditioning, and to take that opportunity and don’t take it for granted.

Most of the TV series you’ve worked on are single episodes. Is the dream to find a home base where you can do an entire season on one show?

That’s the dream — whether it’s a feature film or to be a really strong recurring or series regular. That would be amazing. As an actor, you’re always aiming for that. I have a friend who had a three-episode arc on a show. The chemistry and the table readings were going so well, she ended up being a series regular. So, sometimes it comes that way, but most times a character like that is already fleshed out.

Besides a more extensive character arc, what are you looking for when a script comes your way?

It’s important to me that the character has depth and really moves the plot line forward. I’m looking for interesting characters. They can be scary or unlikable or likable or hilarious, as long as there’s depth to the writing. I’m all in for anything. There are so many avenues these days, especially through streaming. But good writing is always what drives everything. Taylor Sheridan writes all his scripts. That’s good TV.

Did you get to work with any of the major stars in this series?

I got to work with the great Nicole Kidman in my last scene of the last episode I’m in. It hasn’t aired yet, so I have to keep mum about it. But she was incredibly gracious. It felt like working with an old theater actor friend. She was fantastic.

As an Afro Latina in this industry, how would you define your journey so far in Hollywood?

A lot of times, people don’t know what to do with me. I fall into a couple of different categories. When my hair is blown out and straightened, they’re like, “Is she Indian? Is she African American? Oh, she’s Cuban. She’s Dominican.” One of my first recurring roles was on The Shield, and my character was Latina. That was a big deal to me. I feel like the industry has caught up a bit. We have a ways to go, and I still find myself educating people daily. I think what’s even lovelier is being cast in a part that might have gone to a white guy. TV and film can inform the culture, so things that audiences weren’t used to seeing become more accepted.

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This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2024.