Ines Asserson as Avery "AJ" Jarrett in "For All Mankind" season 5 (Avery "AJ" Jarrett (Ines Asserson) and Lily Dale (Ruby Cruz) are two of this season's newest young adult characters. They were last seen as children in season 4, but they are all grown up now with the show’s time jump to the 2010s. We connected with Asserson and Cruz to learn more about their journeys on Apple TV’s flagship sci-fi series and the rigors of zipping up a spacesuit!“We had so many different costumes because of their development in her association with the Marines," Asserson tells Space. "It was so cool, and I felt really powerful in the uniforms during the space travel to Mars. We weren't in them very long. It was easy to physically enter the headspace of a Marine wearing them. The first time in a spacesuit was really cool, then I realized they're not that easy to wear. They're heavy and clunky, and you want them to look cool. I mean, when else would I get to wear a spacesuit?"Asserson's Off-Planet Expeditionary Force (OPEF) marine is a complex individual whose family legacy is a generational aspect of the hit show. She's the daughter of Danny and Amber Stevens, and granddaughter of astronauts Gordo and Tracy Stevens, who sacrificed themselves in season 2's finale to save the Jamestown lunar base by taking a suicidal moonwalk. Ines Asserson's "AJ" trying to fit in as a Marine in "For All Mankind" ("She’s really fighting such a battle with herself that speaks to that kind of yearning for belonging and friendship and family as well, and to embrace her family history. Her struggling wth her past is always going to be a difficult thing for Avery. I think that’s going to take shape in many different situations. Everything is going to make her see another side of herself."In crafting her Earth-based soldier character, Asserson talked to a number of veterans, which was something that became incredibly informative to understand the mindset of combat and camaraderie.The first time in a spacesuit was really cool, then I realized they're not that easy to wear. They're heavy and clunkyInes Asserson"Then we did a lot of CQB (Close-Quarter Battle) training with a real Green Beret," she adds. "He was phenomenal. We learned to clear rooms, operate guns in a way that's realistic, and to work together as an OPEF group. Those friendships have really become super important to me in my real life, actually, which I think is that Marine mentality."Ruby Cruz portrays Lilly Dale, the daughter of Miles Dale (Toby Kebbell), and an ambitious journalist who helped leak the secret Happy Valley automation documents to the press with Alex (Sean Kaufman). Ruby Cruz as Lily Dale in "For All Mankind" season 5 ( "It's so cool thinking about the different qualities in him that she would really admire and look up to and want to embody. And the different qualities in him that really frustrate her and that she would want to reject. Building out with Toby was really fun because he's one of the funniest people."I really like that Lily is a young person discovering her voice in fighting for what she believes in. She has this very rebellious, fiery, impulsive nature that I can somewhat relate to. I don’t like the establishment. I don't like organized systems," notes Cruz.We did a lot of CQB (Close-Quarter Battle) training with a real Green BeretRuby Cruz"And I do rela
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