Lorena Andrea stars as the fierce Sister Lilith in the new Netflix series ‘Warrior Nun.’ HL spoke with Lorena about her ‘complex’ character, how Lilith deals with Ava becoming the new halo bearer, and more.
Sister Lilith is one of the nuns who Ava crosses paths with when she becomes the new halo bearer in Netflix’s Warrior Nun. Sister Lilith is more than a little hesitant towards Ava having been given this incredible responsibility, and Lilith is one of the most powerful and skilled nuns out there. HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with Lorena Andrea about why she was drawn to the character of Sister Lilith.
“As soon as I read the script, I fell in love with Lilith immediately,” Lorena told HollywoodLife. “She was so layered and complex. I just feel like there was a lot I identified with, and you really got to see so much of her. You got to see a lot of her vulnerable side. She’s really sensitive and also like really likable as well beneath the surface and believes everything that she likes to show.”
One of the best aspects of Sister Lilith is that she is “fiercely loyal” to the Order of the Cruciform Sword. “She is extremely committed to this Order,” Lorena continued. “She also has a lot of knowledge. She knows everything about this Order because this is something that she’s inherited through her bloodline. She just has tons of knowledge as well that she can really bring to the sisterhood.”
Naturally, when Ava becomes the new halo bearer, that catches Lilith off guard. “Lilith has the hardest time understanding why everybody is cool about Ava taking over as the Warrior Nun because Lilith has trained her entire life for this,” Lorena said. “She knows everything about it, and Ava doesn’t have the knowledge that Lilith does. Lilith has to train her in a really short space of time. She just doesn’t feel it’s very logical. I think she doesn’t understand and doesn’t want to accept it.”
Lorena and her co-stars had to take part in training in order to play the badass warriors in the show. Their training was specialized depending on the character. “Every warrior nun was trained in different martial arts, and my character’s a Kali fighter, which is a Filipino martial art,” Lorena revealed. “We did about a month of training prior. We did all the weapons, swords, and then Kali stick fighting as well.”
The name “Lilith” has a storied history. In Jewish mythology, Lilith was a female demon and the first wife of Adam. Given the show’s roots in religion, HollywoodLife asked Lorena whether or not her character’s name foreshadows anything for Sister Lilith.
“I knew who Lilith was before Warrior Nun was presented to me. So as soon as I read that, I was very excited about it and very intrigued,” Lorena said. “Because like you say it, there’s a lot that comes with that name. I kind of looked at it from Jewish mythology and that perspective where Lilith is equal. Lilith represents an independent woman who is equal to the man. It was very empowering. I feel like it is a very empowering person.” Warrior Nun is now streaming on Netflix.