Shannon Gisela was driving back to her L.A. apartment when she got a call. She’d just auditioned for the role of M.I.A.’s Etta Tiger Jonze, a young woman from the Florida Keys who immerses herself in Miami’s criminal underground to avenge the murder of her family. Casting director Rich Delia was on the line to tell her there had been "a small mic issue." "He was like, ‘We can totally send in the tapes that we got, but I don’t want this mic issue to distract from your performance. Would you mind coming back and doing it again?"' she says.
Some actors might have panicked at the idea of returning to do another intense audition, but Gisela saw the redo as an opportunity, and she appreciated Delia looking out for her. "This is the shot that I have," she recalls thinking. "I’m going to give it all I’ve got."
The team appreciated that positive attitude. A couple months later, after Gisela got the part, she says M.I.A. showrunner and executive producer Karen Campbell (Outlander) "called me and was like, ‘By the way, how you handled that accident showed me that you’re going to be able to handle it when things happen on set.'"
Shannon Gisela as Etta Tiger Jonze in Peacock’s M.I.A.
The part demanded lots of preparation and flexibility. "I got to dive into the deepest end of the pool as it relates to the work," says Gisela, who underwent all kinds of training for the Peacock show — including learning how to handle guns and drive boats.
Etta is a whip-smart, badass character, but she also has a big heart. Gisela loved bringing every part of her alter ego to life. "I felt such a big responsibility to do it, and do it like I meant it," she says of the career-launching role, her first as a series lead.
Gisela grew up in Dania Beach, Florida, and took up acting at the University of Central Florida, where she majored in psychology with a specialty in leadership studies. She joined a school improv group for fun, but it turned into a life-changing experience. "It felt like my gateway drug into performing," she says.
After earning her bachelor’s degree in 2019, Gisela booked a one-way ticket to the West Coast to pursue acting. "I had a couple grand in my bank account, and I was like, 'I’ll figure it out,'" she says.
She studied improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade and built up a résumé of roles in short films, including Chasers, which made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last year. More recently, she voiced investigator Irene Gumb in the Netflix animated comedy Strip Law, which premiered in February.
M.I.A., created by Bill Dubuque (His & Hers, Ozark), filmed its nine episodes in south Florida, a big bonus. "I could work a crazy week and then reset by spending time with my family on the weekend," Gisela says.
She recalls a night sequence shot on Fort Lauderdale Beach, where she spent weekends when she was growing up: "I’m sitting there in my chair, and the set is buzzing — we’re getting ready to do a scene. And my mom, who has my location on Find My Friends, texts me, and she’s like, 'Look up.' "I look up, and my mom is sitting in the distance," she says, smiling at the memory. "It’s a full moon, the stars are out, I’m living my dream, and my mom is just sitting there taking it in."
M.I.A. is now streaming on Peacock.
This article originally appeared in emmy Magazine, issue #5, 2026, under the title "Florida Woman."
