The following contains spoilers for For All Mankind Season 3, Episode 10, "Stranger in a Strange Land," now streaming on Apple TV+.

Apple TV+'s acclaimed original series For All Mankind has wrapped its third season, continuing its alternate history space race into the '90s. Leading the United States as its space program shifts its focus to Mars is President Ellen Wilson, played by Jodi Balfour. While Ellen was introduced in the '60s as an astronaut, her professional career shifted to politics, forcing her to hide her true sexual orientation from the public as she ascended to the role of Commander-in-Chief.

In an exclusive interview with CBR, Balfour reflected on her character's journey across the first three seasons of For All Mankind. She shared how she connects with the character with each time jump between seasons and teased her hopes for Ellen as For All Mankind readies itself for its upcoming fourth season.

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For All Mankind S3 E1 Ellen

CBR: Jodi, when did you learn from the writers and producers that you were going to become President of the United States in Season 3?

Jodi Balfour: They actually told me about that before I even signed on to the show, which was wild and a very alluring part of playing this character. They gave me the three-season journey of hers because, with where she starts, you might not suspect [where] this character is going. [laughs] She's not a wallflower, by any means, but she doesn't necessarily take up all that space -- pun not intended. She's on the quieter side and studious, dedicated to the space program, for sure, and passionate about it, but I don't know if you necessarily see political leadership in her future from Season 1. All I had to work with in reading for the role was the first three episodes from Season 1, but they told me early on, and it was really, really exciting.

Ellen becomes the most public figure in the world, and yet she can only live half a life because of her sexual orientation. How is it approaching those levels of nuance to the character?

It's been such a richly layered thing to get to act. As an actor, the biggest gift is to be given a secret of some kind, and that can be a low-stakes secret or an incredibly high-stakes secret like this one. It just makes for such complicated, nuanced stuff to work through. There are two sections to it -- I care so much about her as a character, so three seasons of carrying this sacrifice and never putting herself first has been really heartbreaking, and, at times, I've pushed back on it, for sure. But as an actor, it's the juiciest, best stuff ever. [laughs]

Some of my favorite scenes of yours are Ellen's scenes with Pam and Larry because they're the big scenes where Ellen is truly allowed to be herself. How is it having Meghan Leathers and Nate Corddry as scene partners?

It's the best! I've said this for a really long time, but my favorite days on set are my days with Nate or Meghan. Part of the gift of this show is we get to play these people for such a long period of their lives. Finding that with these relationships as places we plug back into when we start new seasons for every eight to ten years, or whatever's it's been, is, to me, the most tangible way to reintroduce myself and the audience to [the] character through where these relationships are and how they've evolved.

What does it look like when Ellen and Larry are in private? What are the depths of that relationship, and what have they gone through together? There's so much to mine and play there as actors -- it's awesome. They're honestly the best. Those two actors deserve all the recognition and celebration for what they've portrayed as well, truly.

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For All Mankind S3 E7 Ellen Larry

Like you were saying, we've been covering these characters' lives over about 35 years, and there's a lot of life that we don't see. Do you fill in some of that unseen backstory yourself or just stick with what's on the page?

It's a bit of both. I start with the page. I'm a theater nerd and can't get too far away from my training which was always that the script is key and everything starts from there. Every season you do the thing you usually do [what you do] when you start a job for the first time, which is to create a backstory. With this show, we have to keep doing that each season. [laughs] It's not like I labor over that because there is so much historical context given to us by the creators, and you get to see that in that incredible montage at the start of every season that catches us up to speed.

It's about little personal moments that I think might've happened, and for this season, it's been building up Ellen's married life with Larry. Have they completely divorced themselves from sexual experience, or how do they navigate that part of themselves? What's her relationship with her kid, and what was it like having a kid? It's just sort of massaging the things we don't actually get to see, but for me, are very informative with how this person walks through the world.

With that said, what are some of your constant touchstones in finding the character across this 35-year journey and counting?

Family is clearly really important to her. The space program, even beyond leading America, which has become its own thing entirely, is a means to an end in a way to continue to support, nurture, and prioritize space exploration and her relationship with NASA. Then there's her family of origin and this family she's created. She's a pilot first and foremost, so just remembering she's this fully fleshed, three-dimensional human and not just the President and one-track mind that we see sometimes.

You have a really good speech in Episode 9 this season, and you also say so much without saying a word looking at Ellen's family photos right before reclaiming her own narrative in the press room.

That episode and speech, getting to do that for her -- and honestly, for myself because I don't know how much of that we've seen on television -- will probably always be one of the most meaningful things I get to do as an actress. It was incredible, and I remember reading the script. I knew that was sort of coming, but our writers really don't tell us very much. [laughs] They give us nuts and bolts, but when I kept giving some elbow nudging here and there about when do we get to let her be fully herself, they gave me some clues on what was coming down the pipe.

Reading that script for the first time, being at the table read and doing it on the day, I get emotional just thinking about it still. It was an honor and a challenge I did not take lightly. This is a huge show with an incredible ensemble, and we don't get a ton of time with every character. Like you said about saying a lot just looking at the family photos or even reading between the lines of the speech or a look at Larry, I feel an immense responsibility to bring a lot of life to all of those moments because I think that the audience loves all these characters equally and wants to get to live with them as much as possible. I felt relief for Ellen and incredible privilege and relief as a human as well that we created a world where this is possible. This woman is the Republican President in the '90s, and it felt pretty layered and special.

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For All Mankind S3 E9 Ellen

With the writers only giving you the nuts and bolts, what has surprised you the most with where they've taken your character and the story?

I knew I was going to be the President, but they didn't tell me I was going to be a Republican President, and I was pretty surprised. [laughs] On a personal note, I just became an American citizen, so I've only just earned the right to have strong opinions about things like this, but I was pretty devastated that she was going to be a Republican. [laughs] I've come around to it, and her as a Republican is pretty aspirational and cool. [laughs]

I always love the evolving costuming and hair and makeup of the characters as For All Mankind progresses through history. How is it finding your performance putting on Ellen's power suit and '90s hairstyle?

We do these camera tests at the start of every season to establish the look, and it's huge. This is so dorky, but for the longest time, I have a little ritual where, as I put on her shoes in the morning, I try to allow it to be more poetic than just the literal putting on of her shoes. When we find how she looks each season, it's enormously informative, with this season in particular. I am a fidgety human and cannot sit still, stoic and confident, and I had to work a lot on the physical aspect of this performance. The hair, the clothes, and everything was 50% of the work, truly. [laughs] I owe our heads of the department immense gratitude.

Ellen gets the closest thing For All Mankind has in regard to a happy ending as she reunites with Pam. Walk me through that scene and where you'd like Ellen to wind up as we move towards Season 4.

That was so important to me that we got that little glimpse. I'm really hopeful for them and the world that we've created, too, that it can tolerate this complexity of this Republican President being a lesbian woman. That was a really special moment, and I think there was a lot of hope in that beat. I truly have no idea what lies ahead, but I hope it includes Pam and Ellen on that front porch that Pam described in Episode 8, having a cup of coffee together before they go off to do their own things. I really have a lot of hope for a future with the two of them.

Created by Ronald D. Moore, Matt Wolpert, and Ben Nedivi, the first three seasons of For All Mankind are available to stream on Apple TV+. The series has been renewed for a fourth season.