‘For All Mankind’s Wrenn Schmidt on Margo’s Return in Season 5 and More (Exclusive)

The finale for For All Mankind was pure chaos as the war for Mars became a full-on massacre, with major implications back on Earth. Plus, the astronauts on Titan had to fight for their lives on board the stranded seeker as the search for new life took a shocking turn.

Listening to it all unfold from a distance was Margo Madison (Wrenn Schmidt), still stuck in prison with no means of helping her allies, even as a desperate Graciana Rosales begged her mom’s old friend for details on whether Aleida (Coral Peña) was still alive amid the chaos. Margo did try, though, calling every contact she knew until finally someone answered: Will Tyler (Robert Bailey Jr.), who was unable to share any intelligence about Mars.

Though she was unsuccessful at helping Graciana, her sincere effort did bring Margo closer to the daughter of her career-long mentee, and it gave us a chance to see Margo again for the first time since Season 5’s needle drop premiere moment.

As one of the last OGs of the series, Wrenn Schmidt certainly has a unique perspective on the show’s development. Here, the actress talks about her not-so-triumphant return in Season 5 and more.

What was the makeover process like this season?  

Wrenn Schmidt: I feel like the prosthetics process is always kind of intense, especially on this show, because it has to be subtle, and sometimes it takes a while to figure out, “What are the things that you tweak or change?” But this past season was definitely really hard. It was four and a half hours of time in the chair, and it’s a weird thing. I think that’s a weird thing, as an actor, to suddenly have so much of your face down. So it was a bit of a process, figuring out, “Well, what is this like?” Because in previous seasons, you could see so much more of my face, even though I was wearing a lot of old-age makeup… It was an adjustment for sure.

You’re one of the few remaining originals from the series. You’ve seen it grow, and now we’re seeing even more expansion. What’s it been like for you to watch this show and its trajectory, and then now this season, especially going into new places?

It’s weird, honestly. It’s exciting, but it’s also strange because you become attached to those things that are familiar. I mean, I think back to losing Michael [Dorman] and Sarah [Jones] in Season 2 and coming back for Season 3. It was like, it is not the same without Michael Dorman and Sarah Jones, so it’s weird, but it’s also exciting to see what comes out of that. And I can definitely say it was weird for me at the beginning of Season 5 when it suddenly dawned on me, “Oh, I actually don’t know how to play Margo like this,” because I’m used to always approaching playing her from a point of view of work and pursuit of something, and she’s so dedicated to her career, and suddenly, there’s no veneer of that anymore at all. It’s kind of like drop-in, so it was like a pretty big shift, and I like to think I’m a very smart, perceptive person, but every time I have a job that changes like this, or just a new job, I’m like, “Do I know anything about anything?” It was like a really big shift.

I did like how, at the beginning of the season, they introduced her with “Run the World” by Beyonce in the backdrop, and she’s in prison, but she’s still got her feisty spirit.

I think that’s fun, too. We don’t really go into in the season, because it’s not an important part of the story as a whole, [but] she’s kind of like the mayor of this prison. Everybody likes Margo, and she kind of does her own thing, and she’s salty and fun. She also is almost like a child in a way because I think a lot of Season 5 from Margo, even though we don’t see it, she’s like, “What is pop culture? I never had the time nor interest in what’s on the radio or TV. I never watch TV, and now all I have is time.”

In Episode 10, you’re kind of book-ending the season, and we see her. You said she didn’t get to work, but then she does get to work because she’s trying to fulfill this task for Graciana. First of all, what did it mean to her that Graciana would come to her, and then why does she try so hard to help her?

I think, initially, Margo’s just completely caught off guard that Graciana is there and that Graciana thinks that Margo can do the impossible. I think that really freaks her out because she’s being asked to do something that she knows she will fail at. There’s no way she can achieve this thing, and I also think that’s really difficult to be confronted with something like that. If you’re a person who’s always had agency and has always, despite the odds, just been relentless about pursuing a solution, to suddenly be in a position where there is no solution — “There is nothing I can do, but because I love your mom, I’m gonna try” — but I think that’s just such a tough pill to swallow. I think ultimately, she tries, because if not her, who? And also, why not? The worst that’s gonna happen is like she’s gonna eat a giant piece — actually not a piece of humble pie, she’s just gonna eat the whole pie.

I think that’s actually one of the lovely surprises about playing Margo is in the very first or second episode of Season 1, she’s doing that interview with Gene Kranz. She’s like, “You don’t worry about me. I don’t want to have a family, I don’t want to have kids, I’m not interested in that.” In Season 5, that’s suddenly like, “Oh no, actually, she cares about that a lot.”

I was gonna ask, do you think she and Graciana have developed a maternal relationship, like with Aleida?  

Yeah, but I wouldn’t even go as far as to say maternal. I would just think it’s this deep affection for these kids that have become a part of her life. Aleida’s like her chosen family, and it snuck up on her. I think it’s a surprise that she loves these people as much as she does and that she would do almost anything, pretty much, for that person… I think it’s less maternal and more of just like, “Oh, I love you in a deep way that it’s difficult to explain and makes me slightly uncomfortable.”

What are your hopes for Season 6?

I guess my hope for Season 6 is just that the writers, and really like the whole family of FAM, which there really is — I guess you have a proper send off and conclusion, and I think that whatever needle Matt [Wolpert] and Ben [Nedivi] and the writers are trying to thread, that’s an extraordinarily difficult one, but I hope they feel like there’s like some kind of closure for the story for fans of the show, and for these characters, and I hope they do something that, even though I feel like every season they try and blow something out of the water, that really does do justice to the show.

For All Mankind, Apple TV