Apple TV's Foundation adapts Isaac Asimov's influential series of the same name and is one of the most ambitious projects a streaming service has attempted. Foundation spans centuries and across the vastness of space and cultures. The series analyzes how humans survive and questions if we even should. One of the main characters of the time and setting-hopping narrative is Salvor Hardin, who is part of a long-running experiment that's dedicated to preserving human progress for future generations ahead of a predicted societal collapse.

During an exclusive interview with CBR, Leah Harvey spoke about the elements of Foundation's Salvor Hardin that most appealed to them as a performer and shared what it was like to take part in a series whose expansive scope exceeds anything airing on television.

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CBR: Foundation is distinctly heady, even compared to most science fiction films and television. It's a lot more philosophical. It's not quite as straightforward as the red lightsaber=bad guy. What is it like as a performer to jump into a world this distinct?

Leah Harvey: Yeah, the scope of this show is so big.

You never quite know where you're standing, where your character is standing. Is your character a good guy, is it a bad guy? Is it's a good decision, it's a bad decision? But that's really fun to do, as an actor, to be part of something that has such high stakes that also has really complex characters and complex ideas as well. I've been able to engage with so many different topics and thoughts and ideas, and that's been great for me, as Leah, to be able to grow and learn as a person through my work.

Executive Producer/Writer David S. Goyer has spoken about how much he wanted to balance the sheer scope of this series with a keen eye on the characters. What is it like to find humanity in such an epic series?

We were super supported through the whole process by the creators, as well as the other actors in the show. And we really built up a belief in the world, in the circumstances. So in that sense, standing on set and doing these scenes, it wasn't hard to believe what we were doing and find the real meaning behind it. Some of it's challenging simply because it's such abstract thoughts... but that's the challenge about it. That's why it's so fun. When you have people around you who are doing the same thing, you're not by yourself.

It felt like a really good exercise to do as a group, which hilariously actually happens in Foundation -- it's a group of people trying to do one thing, which literally saves humanity. We're not quite saving humanity. We're entertaining humanity, but hopefully giving humanity something to talk about... David and the producers were very clear that they wanted to modernize some of the characters to make it relatable to the audience that we have today, which is really important, especially when you're making a show that's full of so many topics. You have to be able to see the world reflected in it. That's such a great thing to modernize it, bring it into the 21st century, and make it as beautiful and diverse as the world is today.

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Salvor Hardin actually gets to be a bit more down-to-Earth as opposed to many other members of the cast. Everyone around her is trying to be fifteen steps ahead of the future, and Hardin is just trying to keep them alive. What's it like getting to fill that role in the series?

Salvor is really unique in that sense that she kind of is just looking at what's happening right in front of her and going, "Well, we just need to survive." It was really fun to be able to stand in a room full of people and say this opinion and actually have a conflict with people. Conflict is fun when you're an actor. It's what it's all about. It was really fun. But at the same time, Salvor has to be a leader. Salvor cares about the people around her, and I had the same thing. So I, as Leah, cared about all the actors I was working with and had to lead. It's been really fun to be able to play different facets of this character.

I think Salvor on paper at first, is really kind of no-nonsense, bad-ass, tough, strong -- but there are moments of real vulnerability there that I got to explore. When I first was reading it and seeing these moments that we all have as human beings, I found myself really, really touched by how she processed all these things. That self-doubt was something very relatable I think for a lot of people. Moments like that really inspired me to want to present her like a three-dimensional character who just has a lot of stuff going on.

This is a show about a lot of things -- but perhaps most of all, legacy, and the impact that can have on humanity. And in a way, that's what you're getting to be a part of by being in Foundation. It's based on one of the most beloved sci-fi novels of the 20th century, and this series will likely be watched and rewatched by people a year from now, fifty years from now, maybe even hundreds of years from now. What is it like to be a part of something like that?

What an opportunity to have, to be able to tell this story and to be able to bring to the screen such a massive series of books that have influenced so many different things. But the great thing about Foundation is that it's unique in itself. It is unlike any other thing that we've seen, as it only can be, because it was a first. It's an honor to be part of it. I know that everybody involved, like all of us, over 500 people at some point, have been so dedicated to making it the best that we possibly can, which I think we've done. It's great to see the end product and see how it's all coming together because it was quite a heck of a journey to make it. I'm really proud of everyone for their contribution to the show.

Foundation stars Jared Harris as Hari Seldon, Lee Pace as Brother Day, Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick, Leah Harvey as Salvor Hardin, Laura Birn as Eto Demerzel, Cassian Bilton as Brother Dawn, Terrence Mann as Brother Dusk, and Alfred Enoch as Raych Seldon. Foundation premieres Friday, Sept. 24 on Apple TV+. The first two episodes will be available at launch, with subsequent episodes arriving every Friday.

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