INTERVIEW: Leah Harvey Shares New Details on Foundation Season 2

Leah Harvey plays Salvor Harding on the Apple TV+ hit sci-fi series, Foundation, based on the renowned Isaac Asimov novels and is based on the story of humans scattered on planets throughout the galaxy, all living under the rule of the Galactic Empire. Asimov was one of the legendary leaders in sci-fi and has influenced some of our greatest film franchises, such as Star Wars and Dune. He’s the first to mention the idea of wars between galaxies in his writing. 

Foundation is the first break-out role for Leah after starring in the mini-series Les Misérables in 2019. She grew up in Newham, London, and attended The Brampton Manor Academy where she studied dance and performing arts at The Deborah Day Theatre School. She also has a BA Honours degree in professional acting from LAMDA, graduating in 2016.

Throughout season 1 of Foundation, we received a glimpse into the back story of Salvor Harding, who occupies the planet Terminus as a young child. After a time jump 35 years later, we see Salvor as Warden over Terminus. She’s warning the population to stay clear of the monstrous bishops claws roaming the planet and the vault, which has a protective shield that yields people unconscious if they get too close. Unfortunately, Salvor is the only one that can get near it with her special powers, which she fully doesn’t understand yet.

Leah stars alongside Jared Harris (The Crown) as Hari Seldon, a psychohistorian responsible for the inhabitants leaving the Imperial Empire and its looming predicted destruction to form the Foundation on Terminus, which is gathering knowledge for when that demise occurs to speed up civilization’s recovery process, or so she thinks. Leah stars alongside Clarke Peters (John Wick, The Wire) who plays Salvor’s father Abbas and Daniel MacPherson (A Wrinkle in Time, Strike Back) who stars as Hugo, her love interest and ally on Terminus. Foundation also includes Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy), who stars as Brother Day, one of the multigenerational clones that make up the dominant empire. 

Salvor and many other Asimov characters were originally written for white cis males. Still, they were cast as inclusive female identifying and nonbinary actors, including Laura Birn (Void, Purge, Helene), who stars as Demerzel, a human-looking robot watching over the Imperial Empire clone dynasty, and Lou Llobell (Voyagers), who stars as Gaal Dornick. The latter, a psychohistory mentee narrates the Foundation story and viewers are treated to Gaal’s backstory from the water planet Synnax and her journey to the Imperial Empire to work alongside Hari Seldon, a portion omitted from Asimov’s novels but was inspired upon by director Goyer for the series. 

Leah sat down and chatted with us about wrapping season 1 and what we can expect from season 2. Read below for more from Harvey on her exciting moments making the hit series and what fans can anticipate next. 

NIKKI: Congratulations on a very successful and amazing first season of Foundation. I loved you in this performance of Salvor. 

LEAH: Thank you so much.

NIKKI: You’re welcome. Before we dive into Foundation, can you tell me a little bit about how you got your start and your love for acting, like where did it all begin?

LEAH: Such a nice question to start on. When I was quite young, I wanted to dance, and so I did tap dancing, and that was like the catalyst to doing all of the other stuff. I was already a musician. I played violin and stuff, and I just loved performing and learning new skills. I discovered that acting was something I could utilize all the different skills. So I’ve used so many different things in acting, and that’s why I do it. You know, I love it. 

NIKKI: What was the story behind you getting this role as Salvor; how did you get the news?

LEAH: This role came around like in a really odd way. It was a normal audition, I auditioned for Gail, which Lou Loubelle plays, and David kind of saw me in one of the auditions and was like, “Hmm, I think you’re Salvor.” Low and behold, I got the part of Salvor. On the same weekend, I found out I’d also been asked to become a godmother to some French children. So in the space of two days, I was a God mom, and I was Salvor, and it was quite a special time for me.  

NIKKI: You play this badass character. How exciting was it to be on set every day from the costumes, backstory, source material, and aircars? I mean, how amazing is that? It just looks incredible.

LEAH: You’ve seen all the different stuff that Salvor does and what all the other characters do as well. So it was almost like doing it in real life. I would be sitting in the aircar really going at like a very fast speed across the landscape in Iceland. I mean, I absolutely loved it. It was a dream. It’s one of those things that an actor can only dream of, to be able to do these kinds of shows. So I was fully immersed in it. I enjoy making it so much. I enjoy playing and acting and learning all of the skills required for it also. It was just a wonderful time surrounded by wonderful people.

NIKKI: How much of Asimov’s work were you familiar with, and did you pull from the books, or did you try to make this character your own?  

LEAH: I wasn’t familiar at first, and then as soon as I got the part, I was like, “OK, I’m allowed to read it now because I won’t be sad if I don’t get it.” So I read the books, and they’re just there on my shelf. I don’t know if you can see them. 

NIKKI: Yes, I can. (laughing).

LEAH: I’m glad you spotted them. I read the books, I love reading, and I love stories, so I was really interested in them. Obviously, our Salvor is more of an origin story of how she becomes the Salvor we meet in the book; she’s a bit younger. So I try to pick up on all the different things and see how one gets to that place. So it was an interesting journey of mining the books for information. But I love Salvor in the books, and I’m really excited to be able to play this version of her that becomes the version that we know and love.

NIKKI: Yes, definitely. As most Asimov fans know, Salvador, Gail’s character, and Demerzel were written as male characters in the book. So how cool is it that you get to bend these gender norms? What do you hope that message sends to the industry? You slayed this role. (laughing)

LEAH: I think it should be a normal thing for the gender balance to be balanced and also that, you know, just because a character is a woman, it doesn’t mean that she has to behave in a certain way, especially when it’s hundreds and thousands of years in the future when we really shouldn’t be having these problems. Also, I’m nonbinary, so it doesn’t really mean anything to me. To be honest, it’s just words on a page. 

NIKKI: We’ve been on this journey with Salvor for these nine episodes, from losing her father to finding her way on Terminus. She opens the vault, and Selden is saying, “You know, I really don’t have anything to do with that.” (laughing) What’s going through her mind right now.

LEAH: Yeah, we kind of leave her at the end of episode nine, and she doesn’t really understand what she’s seeing. It’s, you know, it’s Hari, and it’s very, very confusing indeed. But you know, I guess it gives her an opportunity to find some answers. So, we’ll see her find out some things, and either she’ll be happy with the results, or she won’t be. But that’s what built her character. Season 2 as well is going to give her a lot more to do. So it’s going to be interesting, I think. 

NIKKI: One of the major themes of the book, as you know is that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. We rarely see Salvor take up arms. Instead, she’s using her mind. How cool was it to play out that theme in the book? Is that something that she’s grown into through the episodes?  

LEAH: They gave Abbas her father; he was the one who kind of is solid in that sense of living, that moral compass. She’s a bit less inclined to it, but that’s because she sees the world differently from them all. There is definitely a journey into seeing how this young woman adopts this ideology and how she changes because of it. In moments where you know, her father has passed away, she keeps that close to her and makes sure that she tries to stick to it. We can’t all be competent all the time. We can’t always do the right thing or the nonviolent thing, and sometimes she’s pushed to do these things. I think that sometimes we stick with these sayings, and that’s it. But sometimes, you can’t quite stick to it, and that’s what we see with her. She makes mistakes or has to do something that she doesn’t want to do, which is a learning process for her. 

NIKKI: Definitely. I love the relationship between Salvor and Hugo. I’ve been very vocal about that. It’s refreshing because Salvor is not changing, or she’s not distracted by Hugo. So can you tell us more about Salvor staying true to herself within the dynamic of that relationship? 

LEAH: Yes, it’s great because this is Salvor’s home. Terminus is Salvor’s home and Hugo is this guy who goes on long-haul routes and then comes back every now and then for a little bit of fun time. They do genuinely really like each other, so there’s a really great connection between them both. He supports her so much, he loves her so much, and she doesn’t have to change for him, as you said. So it was a wonderful thing for Dan McPherson and I to do, to be able to kind of portray that kind of relationship where they’re very much on equal footing, have a lot of fun, very honest with each other, and they’re not necessarily what you would expect from a couple in a show like that. You know, just like badass, like a badass couple. 

NIKKI: As you mentioned, Hugo is played by Daniel McPherson, and the chemistry is just incredible. Outside of the relationship, just as a team, how is it working with Daniel as a cast-mate?

LEAH: Oh, it was amazing. You know, he was always supportive. He’s very experienced in the industry, so he had a lot of lessons that I could take from him, you know, just watching him. He was always really, really wanting to work, wanting to play, and sometimes I would be a bit kind of, you know, nervous or, you know, remembering that this is my first big job and stuff like that. But he would like, slap me out of it, not literally, but slap me out of it, and we’d have a lot of fun. So working with Dan was such an amazing experience, and I can’t thank him enough for the amount of things that he taught me, even just in terms of attitude towards the work. You know, he taught me a lot, and that’s a wonderful costar. That’s the blueprint of a wonderful costar, Daniel.

NIKKI: What was it like working with the director David Goyer?  

LEAH: He’s amazing. David built such a lovely team as well. Sometimes it goes from the top up, doesn’t it? We were going through a really tough time filming the whole season, and he really kept us going. You know, he kept us going, and he gave us big morale boosts. We all knew that we were creating something really fun and really cool, something that was exciting. He kept that vibe going in us all, which was just beautiful, really. 

NIKKI: I love all the behind-the-scenes photos that the cast and yourself you’ve been able to post now that the season has rolled out. Are there any highlights from filming this around the world that stood out? 

LEAH: Oh gosh. Oh, goodness me. Yeah, there are a few. There were some lovely times in Ventura when we filmed a lot of the exterior Terminus scenes later in the season where you just, (gasps) some of the sunsets and, you know, golden hour. There’s a reason why it’s called golden hour. It’s just beautiful. I got to see so many. That was a really big highlight for me, and also, there is a scene in episode 10. I don’t know if you’ve seen it yet, and I don’t know if the world would have seen it yet by the time I do. But there’s a scene in episode 10 that was just like such a special scene to film. I mean, I can talk about it. But also, I don’t know if you want spoilers, so it’s up to you. (laughing). 

NIKKI: Yes, no spoilers yet. (laughing)

LEAH: No spoilers, no spoilers. (laughing) But it was really special, and I think once you watch it, you’ll know what I’m talking about. So it was a real, completing the circle moment.  

NIKKI: Yes, I know which one you’re talking about. (laughing) So congrats on Season 2; so exciting. What are you looking forward to most, and can you tease any single thing about Season 2?

LEAH: Yes. Season 2 is really exciting. We’ve already started filming Season 2. I’m obviously at home in London, in my bedroom because I’m not filming at the moment, but they were working hard, and the scripts are great. They’re really exciting—lots of twists and turns in there. The characters are wonderful. We’ve got lots of new characters as well. Just like the books, you know, there’s kind of a sense of new people coming on every now and then. So that’s happening as well. We’ve also got new crises to deal with, preparing for crises. Relationships, we are really going to dig into some relationships, and I’m just really excited to just get back on set and do it all, to be honest. You can ask me later about it all because I just want to do it. I’m excited. 

NIKKI: Yes, we are so excited, too. Leah, thank you so much for taking time out to chat with us. It’s been a pleasure and wishing you the best.  

LEAH: Thanks so much, Nikki. It’s a pleasure to talk to you.