Grimsby Telegraph

IT’S FUN TO BE PART OF SOMETHING THAT FEELS LIKE A HISTORIC PROJECT

As Apple TV + original For All Mankind returns talks to stars Joel Kinnaman and Shantel VanSanten about the space race drama

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EVERYONE knows that the first man to walk on the Moon was an American. The occasion is so indelibly marked in our minds that most people could probably tell you his name was Neil Armstrong.

But imagine if Russia and not the US had been the nation to plant that first flag on the lunar surface. That is exactly what Apple TV+ original For All Mankind, returning for a second series this month, proposes. Depicting an alternate history in which the space race of the twentieth century never came to an end, the first series saw the United States and the Soviet Union compete for outer space supremacy. Created by Ronald D. Moore (Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica), it stars The Killing’s Joel Kinnaman as astronaut Edward Baldwin and One Tree Hill’s Shantel VanSanten as his partner Karen.

Set in June 1969, the first series joins NASA at a time when Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov has just become the first man to land

DANIELLE DE WOLFE

on the Moon. Beating Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the prize, the Soviets rename the location the “Red Moon”.

“One of the main reasons I jumped on this was ‘cause the grander vision of this show is just so spectacula­r,” says Joel, 41.

“It’s really fun to be part of something that in one way feels like sort of a historic project.

”It starts a little smaller, a little like Mad Men in NASA, and it reaches out into space and we have the US and the Soviets having bases on the moon.

“But now, in the second season, we really start to see the inklings of the grander vision of the show, so, that’s really exciting.” A storyline that can only be described as the Cold War in space, season two sees audiences thrown forward a decade into the early 80s, entering an alternate reality in which President Ronald Reagan remains in power. We find Joel’s character, who commanded the failed landing of Apollo 10, working to recruit the next generation of NASA astronauts – all while helping to avoid nuclear war. “You take a character and you get to know him and I feel like I’ve got him pretty much down,” says Joel.

“And then you jump ten years – and also ten years after a tremendous, lifealteri­ng loss, so where do those ten years take you? “It’s a challenge, but it’s also what’s so rewarding and fun to explore.”

Away from the perils and adrenaline of the space race, audiences can expect their fair share of emotion following on from the loss of Edward and Karen’s son during season one.

“Our show uses space as the backdrop and the metaphor for each individual character and what they’re going through,” says Shantel, 35.

“There’s so much tension and uncertaint­y in between the relationsh­ips on the show and within each character, so, that as a backdrop, on top of what each partnershi­p is going through, I’d definitely say it’s a cold war amongst many of us characters, within and externally.” “There were some particular challenges for me and I think for Shantel as well,” notes Joel.

“We were portraying a family going through a horrible loss – and I think that’s always very difficult. “I don’t think I’ve ever really had to dig as deep emotionall­y as some of these scenes demanded, but I was fortunate to have an incredible scene partner in Shantel that really helped us to descend into those depths.”

■ For All Mankind season two airs exclusivel­y on Apple TV+ from Friday

 ??  ?? Joel as astronaut Edward Baldwin
Joel as astronaut Edward Baldwin
 ??  ?? Shantel VanSanten
Shantel VanSanten
 ??  ?? Joel Kinnaman
Joel Kinnaman
 ??  ??

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