Wrenn Schmidt – For All Mankind

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) Margo has always been someone to compartmentalize and have a steady compass. However, in Season Two and this upcoming season as well, between Aleida and Sergei things have shifted. What is it that makes Margo’s compass fluctuate and leads her to this double-edged crossroads?

A) I mean, I love to go back to season one and Margo’s experience of discovering von Braun’s past and that he chose science over human beings. And she never forgave him for that. But I don’t think that she could ever really understand how complicated that decision was until she’s put in the position that she is in season three. And I feel like that’s also part of why she makes the decision that she does in Season Two because she sees the military valuing military strategy over innocent people dying when she discovers that the Soviets have stolen old plans, old shuttle plans and they’re actually going to build a bad shuttle that could hurt people. And so I see that as being kind of Margo’s Achilles heel is that she kind of made a promise to herself that she would never make the choice that von Braun (Colm Feore) made but then that means that she enters into this relationship with her Soviet counterpart with back channeling information and, once she starts us down that path, it’s incredibly difficult to go back.

Q) Thomas Paine sort of gave her this speech in Season Two about compromise and working with the Soviets is this historically symbolic gesture to inspire. And, obviously, it feels like a giant leap forward (to use a metaphor), but also kind of like proving to be like the kind of needle in a sense as well to Margo and I wanted to ask you a little bit about that. And there is ultimately a speech that we get from Thomas that kind of also sort of drives this portion of Margo’s story too, I think.

A) I think it’s always a difficult position to be in when like the ideal of exploration for NASA doesn’t dovetail with what the political standpoint is of the moment. And I think in some ways that’s even trickier because it feels a little bit like the political opinion changes kind of with like a flick of the wind, depending on what the party in the oval office needs in that moment in time. So, I think at least in Season Two, it’s incredibly frustrating that it feels like so much of Margo’s job and her decision making power is inhibited by the political necessity of the moment, I guess. But it’s interesting, I think in Season Three that in some ways unknowingly because of that, and also because of some of the personal decision she makes, Margo’s kind of boxed in by Season Three, given that she’s decided to continue this relationship of back channeling information.

Q) You talk about the political powers and Margo has always been really great and diplomatic, working with the Justice Department and then Ellen comes to power as the President in Season Three. And you would think someone from within the space program, thinking from this evolution, that would be beneficial and then turns out that it’s more complicated and skewed as unexpectedly as we would find.

A) Right, right.

Q) And the relationship sort of become sort of strained and different for Margo this season. And I wanted to talk a little bit about that aspect as well – how the sort of the politics of the program come into play for her and concept, too.

Q) I always thought it was really interesting. In a series with so many great characters…It’s hard because I think we all have different storylines that we wish we’d had more time with. And I definitely think it’s interesting that Ellen (Jodi Balfour), who’s somebody that Margo always felt very aligned with, suddenly she’s becoming more and more of a political like…Basically, I guess, once her career starts to really move towards politics and away from NASA, that rather than being on the same page they’re often slightly off. That by the time we get to Season Three one of my favorite scenes to film with Jodi Balfour was the scene where we’re in this courtroom. And Margo very much just thinking of it purely from a rational, logistic standpoint of we are driving like a Toyota Corolla to Mars and Polaris is driving like a Hummer limo. When you’re talking purely about space for people on a spacecraft, we don’t have space. We don’t have the resources and they do. And I think it’s really interesting in that in that moment. Ellen overrides her and it’s not just because, I think (in my opinion), for political reasons. I also think that she thinks that that’s the best thing to do from the vantage point of an astronaut. But I also think that she and her husband are thinking of it very much as far as like, what does it mean for the next election? So, I think it’s really difficult now that Margo can’t talk to Ellen, just as Ellen. She’s now talking to Ellen and she’s also talking to the President. So, oftentimes they’re not in step with each other.

Q) Is there anything that you hope kind of lingers or rolls around with fans as we leave season three?

A) I honestly don’t know how to answer that question because I’ve only seen the first six episodes. And sometimes the stuff that stays is different than what we expect, based on the scripts. So, I don’t know. I really hope people have fun with the show. And I hope it’s as exhilarating as the first two seasons have been and I’m so glad people are watching it. That’s really fun that more and more people are coming across “For All Mankind.” As I just hope they feel like they really got taken on a wild ride.