EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Jones and Michael Dorman Talk Season 2 of For All Mankind

For All Mankind Season 2 premiered on AppleTV+ today, February 19, and if you haven’t started watching it yet, you are sorely missing out.

To celebrate the premiere, we sat down with Sarah Jones, who plays Tracy Stevens, and Michael Dorman, who plays Gordo Stevens, to talk what is to come for their characters this season. Check out our interview below.

On Tracy and Gordo switching places in Season 2:

Jones: “I think it’s always interesting that Tracy and Gordo are such parallels of each other in so many ways. They’re constantly orbiting each other. It’s their gravitational pull. And, I realize as I’m saying this sentence, this is a lot of space speak, which is not where I meant to go, but alas here we are. Working with Michael and the sort of rapport that we’ve established with working with each other, whether it’s within a scene together or outside of that, it’s just always fun to mess with and play around with.”

On if the swapping places made it harder on Gordo and Tracy’s relationship:

Dorman: “Maybe it gives them an opportunity to walk in each other’s shoes for a moment. So the things that they couldn’t comprehend, they sort of get an insight to. My take on it is, that perhaps it might actually bring them closer together, even though it doesn’t seem like that at the outset. Just sort of understanding creates understanding.”

Jones: “I would agree with Michael. In the same sort of answer of the last question, they are consistently relating to each other.”

You can read the rest of the interview below. What does everyone think of the second season so far?

On Gordo and Tracy’s progression this season?

Dorman: “I think it was a lot closer to the truth and what happens in so many people’s lives.”

On trying to get back to filming the second season after taking a break due to COVID:

Dorman: “I felt like when you’re doing a series, you get a lot of time to sort of slowly build up to something and you get a rhythm when you’re all working together, everything’s oil. You’re moving forward and you’re sort of building to this pinnacle. And then this season, I felt like we were just about there at the crescendo and we had to stop and wait for six months. You’re just waiting, waiting, waiting, not knowing when it’s going to happen, and then to come back and hit it at the peak. I found that to be the most challenging thing that I’ve ever been a part of.”

Jones: “It was jarring. The world had changed so drastically, or the world that we’ve been accustomed to relating to. Everything was different. It wasn’t just like, oh, we took a six month break and now we got to get right back to normalcy.”

On how their approach to the story changed due to COVID:

Jones: “There was a lot of stuff that shifted. So, then you want to be honest about it. You want to be honest in terms of how you relate to the character. You want to be honest about how your character relates to other characters. And so it was towing the line between that. Finding that honesty and also melding where you left off so that there’s some fluidity to it.”

On how they got back into the same headspace when they resumed filming after the break?

Jones: “I think ultimately for me, you just show up. You just show up. You just have to put on the outfit.”

Dorman: “That’s where you lean on the bed you’ve made. We were lucky that it was the second run. I imagine if it was the first season, it would have been a whole different case. We were fortunate that we did have that rapport when there was a short hand, so that helped. But I guess you’re right, Jonesy, you just got to show up in that sense and trust.”

Jones: “There is nothing else. Everything is so out of your control. From the fact that we’re not the writers or directors to the conditions, the days weren’t the same. How we interact with the cast and crew is not the same. None of it’s the same, so you show up and get in and get the day done. And make sure that it’s as authentic as you can make it. Like Michael said, just trust that the people around you are doing the same. And I fully believe they were. We were all in it together.”

On how the rapport they built between each other helped them shoot the tougher scenes, including the scene where Gordo confesses about what happened to him in first season:

Dorman: “With stuff like that, such a beautiful scene, every day is different. You don’t know where you’re going to be. Sometimes you’re right in the pocket and you can dive into that emotion. I find that sometimes I’m out of it. And in a moment like that, where I can’t really tap into the truth in the scene, I rely heavily on who I’m playing with. Sometimes you can push each other into those places. I guess we were fortunate that there was a rapport there in that instance. Because I remember that day, it was a tricky one getting into it. Everything was foreign. And I felt like the wind had been taken out of the sails a little. Then we’re sort of thrust into doing that high moment. For me, I’m ever self-critical, so I’m never the best judge. But I hope it came out okay.”

Jones: “I think that’s something that Michael and I have been fortunate to have in terms of work between us is that I think we have a similar approach. We don’t push anything. If it’s not there, we don’t push it. We don’t force it, we just do it. We have enough of a trust between us and enough of a solid friendship to sort of go, who cares if this isn’t it. We might’ve thought of it this way when we first read this, but this is what it is today and we’re going to do that. We’re going to do that version because this is what it feels like today.”

On what they would say their characters’ main purposes are this season?

Jones: “Coming home.”

Dorman: “For Gordo, his is probably just finding hope again. When you meet him, he’s sort of lost it, lost that hope. It’s gone. And all of us need it to survive. So, it’s him trying to figure out what that means.”

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.