Krys Marshall, an American actress, is best known for her role on the Apple TV+ series “For All Mankind.” Before landing her breakout role, she guest-starred in several long-running shows including Shameless,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “Criminal Minds.” In 2018, she played a recurring role on The CW’s “Supergirl” and portrayed Purity, a supervillain. Her love of entertainment also extends to comedy, and she has appeared in numerous sketches on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” She plays NASA engineer and the agency’s first Black astronaut Danielle Poole in “For All Mankind,” which premiered in 2019 to positive reviews. After the first season, she transitioned from a recurring to a main character and has gotten acclaim from critics for her performance. Since its debut, “For All Mankind” was nominated for 2022 Critics Choice Award for “Best Drama Series” along with a 2023 Critics Choice Super Award for “Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series, or Made-for-TV Movie. Also, she is the creator, producer, and host of the show’s accompanying podcast “For All Mankind,” the official podcast where she interviews the show’s actors, crew and real space experts.

**Left:**
Top/Pant by The Last Follies Closet Archive Collection
Shoes by RICAGNO
**Right:**
Dress by SARAWONG (using faux feathers)
Shoes by ADC SHOES

What was the audition process like “For All Mankind?” Did you audition for any other characters besides Danielle Poole?
I actually came into our casting director’s office for a completely different show about lesbians in their 20s. After the audition, they sent the assistant out after me and asked if I had time to “quickly read for this project about NASA.” At the time, the show was totally under wraps and the network didn’t even exist, yet. But I skimmed the material, learned what I could, and glommed onto the parts of Danielle that felt familiar; that reminded me of women in my family, and 10 minutes later I popped back in and did the audition. That night I was offered the role and two days later I was on set.

Each season, fans see Danielle in wildly different parts of her life. How do you gauge a realistic version of her that stays true to how fans met her in season one?
Each morning you wake up, you’re a few hours older than you were when you went to bed the night before. But each day you don’t say to yourself “I better hold onto the parts of me that make me, ME.” Who you are is in your bones, and it never goes away. But as time goes on, you may experience aches and pains, so you move a bit slower. Or your vision begins to go, so you squint or wear glasses. For me, it’s important that I play the specifics of Danielle in any given moment, rather than a general wash of “playing old”. Generality is a trap that can tank a performance.

How do you deal with the responsibility of portraying a character that is a trailblazer in their line of work?
Playing a character that is the first to make history is incredibly empowering. But of course with great power comes great responsibility. Everything Danielle does is seen through a microscope. She’s expected to be perfect, and any shortcoming she has isn’t just a reflection on her as a person but on her as a figurehead for black women everywhere. So she’s not allowed to make a mistake. I’ve felt similar unfair expectations of how I should behave and I do my best to remind myself that I don’t have to carry my culture on my shoulders. Being black isn’t a monolith, and so my work is to actively push back on those restrictions placed on me.

Have you had fans approach you and talk about how your character has affected and inspired them?
All the time and I love it. Our work can be isolated in the way that you make a season with just your cast and crew and it could take a year or more for the audience to receive that hard work and enjoy it. So, it’s really lovely to have the heart you put in, reflected back to you. And knowing that our show gives people something to look forward to, or someone they can see themselves in, feels good.

How has it been transitioning from a recurring character to now, a focal character in season 4?
Our writers have said many times that they are heat-seeking-missiles for good stories. Neither they nor I had any idea that Danielle would grow to take up so much space in our world. But I think that as time went on, there was more meat on the bones and more story to explore. I’m grateful that I was given the chance to breathe life into her in a more significant way this season. My only regret is that it didn’t happen sooner.

Jumpsuit by The Last Follies Closet Archive Collection
Shoes by FLOR DE MARIA RIVERA

Where did the idea to start an official podcast “For All Mankind” come from? How did you pitch the idea to Apple TV?
Something I love about Apple is that they’re constantly inventing ways to connect with our audience outside of the bookends of each episode. So, whether it’s the podcast, an interactive gaming experience, or behind-the-scenes featurettes exploring how the show gets made, they’re all in the service of inviting our audience deeper into our world. Initially the podcast was proposed as a roundtable discussion with the cast; just a one-off conversation about the season and how we all felt. And in preparing for that chat, I realized there was so much more to be gleaned from the cast and crew that it would be a shame to shove it all into a single one-hour conversation. So, I pitched the podcast as a companion to each episode and thankfully Apple loved the idea and gave me the green light.

Do you have a favorite episode or favorite guest you’ve invited on the podcast?
That’s tough, they’re all my favorite. I love talking to our creator Ron Moore and hearing storylines that never made it out of the writer’s room. I love talking to our show runners Matt and Ben about the creative process and how their personal lives get woven into our world and soaked into our fictional characters. I love talking to my cast mates, (whom I’m close to) and hearing anecdotes of crazy things that happened on set when I wasn’t around. I’m a curious person by nature, so honestly I could sit and ask questions for days, if you let me.

As an actor, how do you prepare for and develop a character’s background and motivations? Do you use journals, create notes, or simply go with the flow?
For me, acting is a lot like driving: you learn all the rules, you study, work hard, prepare as best as you can, but eventually you have to let all that go and just get behind the wheel and drive. If you’re on the freeway and your mind is still back at Driver’s Ed, you’ll wreck your car! Staying present, focusing on the action around you, and reacting in real time is what acting is all about.

Besides drama, you’ve also worked in theater and comedy. Are those genres you’d like to pursue in the future?
I want to do it all! I grew up in the theatre and doing a live show is like holding onto an electrical wire; it is riveting. But when I moved to Los Angeles I joined an Improv group and if I do say so myself, I'm pretty funny. I could see myself doing any number of things next, but the most important is that I’m working with good, kind people.

If you could pitch an idea for an episode to the writer’s room, what would it be?
I’d love to see Danielle go home to Memphis. I’m close with my family, and my relationship with them informs everything I do. We’ve seen glimpses of Danielle’s past life but I’d love to see more; where she came from, who are her living relatives, what she was like as a little girl. I think about little Danielle often and would love to get eyes on who she used to be.

Social Media.
Instagram: @krysmarshall

CREW CREDITS:
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
PhotoBook Creative Director: Mike Ruiz + @mikeruiz.one
Photographer: Justin Ayers
Talent: Krys Marshall
Fashion Stylist: Melvin Sanders
Hair: Jordana David
Makeup: Cherish Brooke Hill
Photo Assistant: Willa Salam
Tearsheets by Daniel López, Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview by Sneha KC, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine
Studio: Interwoven Studios