Krys Marshall – For All Mankind

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) In the season premiere, Margo and Molly discussed the merits of who should go to Mars and there are still certain trepidations on Molly’s side about Danielle’s capabilities as opposed to Ed’s (Joel Kinnaman). Then, subsequently Ed’s conversation echoes things with Danielle as well. What does that say about how the world and other women, especially during this time period, values/ed women’s contributions over men and how it’s perceived still today?

A) I think what’s really lovely about our show is that it’s a generational show. In season one, we see that Danielle is the youngest, and the only black woman of course and the astronaut candidate program. And Molly (Sonya Walger) is the oldest. So, we’re watching even within the span of the astronaut candidates. There’s the youngest and the oldest two different generations are both existing at the same time. So, Molly is still a part of that old guard, still a part of the old world where in order to be good, you got to fly upside down and be risk taking and all those sorts of things. And she’s never really respected Danielle’s bookishness and her patience and her seriousness. She’s always seen it as kind of, I don’t know, weak or whatever. So, it makes perfect sense why Molly would think that Ed is best for the job. I also think we see this in the conversation with Ed and Danielle in the outpost after Danielle has been given the commander position over him is we see that even though Ed loves Danielle, they’ve been friends for many years, colleagues for many years, saved one another’s lives – Danielle’s watched him go from being a dad to losing a child to adopting a daughter – he’s seen her go from being a wife to being a widow to being wife again…These two have been through the wringer and all the same, he can’t help but still see her through the lens of his position of superiority as a straight white man who was used to being the alpha in this experience in this in this world. So, that conversation was really tough. It was tough for Danielle to hear. And she says, “I’m not angry. I’m just disappointed.” And I think Ed begins to realize that some of his ideas are antiquated, and that he’s a part of that outdated, old generation.

Q) This season focuses on a three way race to Mars between NASA, Russia and independent Helios. How does this storyline speak to and reflect on the contemporary way our society sort of views and blurs the lines between power politics and innovation?

A) We talk about this theme a lot in our show that NASA doesn’t innovate. That they are an old mule going around in circles. And so on the one hand, their bureaucracy and their caution and their safety is what keeps folks alive. It’s part of the reason why Ed gets in trouble as brought up to Senate review and season one because he mouthed off to the reporter. NASA doesn’t doesn’t take chances anymore. They don’t take risks. So, on the one hand, we’ve got Helios who is totally the opposite. And all they do is innovate, innovate, innovate, and you hear these stories about Space X where they will blow up a rocket just for fun – they’re just constantly burning money and blowing stuff up. Whereas NASA it’s very much like tried and true. So, I think very much that in our world we mirror the juxtaposition of what it’s like to be cautious, maybe not necessarily innovative, but also safe and steady as she goes, and what it’s like to be fast, quick in a hurry, and how dangerous that can also be.

Q) Well, Danielle season after season has been tasked with trying to manage her ambition, but all while having to do with babysitting the boys.

[Krys laughs]

Q) First it was her OG team and now with Danny (Casey W. Johnson). Being a woman at the forefront of her field is a major accomplishment, but then Danielle doesn’t seem to get the recognition she deserves, even enough seemingly from her family. What is it about her relationship with space and NASA that just ultimately continues her drive?

A) Okay. So, Danielle talks a lot throughout her time in the series about her love for space. She talks about it when she comes to the outpost and is talking to Ed and Gordo (Michael Dorman) and says, “I want to go back. I want to go back. I want to see the Earth rise over Shackleton Crater and I want to feel my boots in the moon dust. Don’t you guys want to go back?” That feeling of how grand and beautiful and expansive the world is and the universe is how much we can do – that supersedes any experience of ego, of wanting recognition, of being patted on the back. I also think that Danielle’s a black woman, and I think women everywhere know exactly what it’s like to work your butt off and to have your accomplishments either be relegated and attributed to somebody else, or be completely dismissed and ignored. So, we watched Danielle do what real women do every day, which is they work hard, they don’t receive acknowledgement or accolades, and they get back to work. That’s real life.

Q) Is Danielle’s faith and loyalty a fault for her then or would you consider it more of an asset?

A) It’s both. It’s definitely both you know, the decision to break her arm and season one is a combination of her faith and loyalty being absolutely her biggest strength and also her greatest demise. That decision to break her arm was a decision that I really didn’t love. I’m honest. I didn’t understand why we had done that and why would she do that? And this seems so counterintuitive. She’s got this huge dream and she’s the first black person to ever do this on the moon and she’s gonna throw it all away because of Gordo? But I also think that this is in the bones of who this woman is in the marrow of what makes Danielle. It is the reason why she comes back and cares for Clayton. It’s the reason why she befriends these Russians and how they all go out for burgers at the outpost and she connects with them. This is truly deep and who she is and we see it throughout season three of her being a caregiver in many ways, her being a support system for folks. And that type of unsung hero is imperative in the kind of work that they’re doing. But, yeah, I think it’s both it’s her blessing and a curse.

Q) What do you think it isn’t about “For All Mankind” that just continues to fascinate and really find such a special spot in viewers hearts?

A) Something I love about our show is that it really is world building in the way that it’s not just about life in Houston, Texas. And it’s not just about life on the moon. And it’s not just like for a black person or a woman or a gay person or a person with substance abuse issues. Like, we are finding ways to dip into and explore so many different types of stories. On the Sony lot our trailers take up like a huge amount. I mean, you would think that our cast had fifty people in it because it is just there’s so many performers, there’s so many lead performers and there’s so many guests performance we have amazing performances from guys like Nate Corddry, who plays Ellen’s husband, Larry and Noah Harpster, who plays Bill Strausser are in the Mission Control Room. There’s just so many different worlds and different people that we spend time with that I think that if an audience is science minded audience, they’re going to find something delicious for themselves to chew on. And even if you don’t love sci fi, you’re going to find someone like Cynthy’s [Wu] story as Kelly Baldwin – her immigration story coming from Vietnam. Coral’s [Peña] story of Aleida and her immigration story of coming from Mexico. Like everyone knows what it’s like to be an outsider. Everyone knows what it’s like to feel different. Everyone knows what it’s like to fight like hell to get what you want. And so I think that the beauty is that there really are no leads. We all collectively, like a Shakespearean cast, like we just tell this great story together, sort of passing the baton like a couple of relay runners back and forth, back and forth. Now’s your time. Okay, you take it. You run it for a couple episodes and you hand it back? Now you run it for a couple episodes and I think the audience feels that camaraderie and that real respect and adoration we have for each other and it translates into a really good job.