Costa Ronin as Martian governor Leonid "Lenya" Polivanov
(Image credit: Apple TV)
Acclaimed actor Costa Ronin ("The Americans," "Homeland") is another fresh face in Apple TV’s "For All Mankind" season five; his Soviet ex-cosmonaut politician, Leonid "Lenya" Polivanov, has the dubious honor of presiding over Happy Valley as the official governor of Mars."The entourage makes the king, right?" Ronin tells Space. "The colony has grown so much, and with any growth of any colony, there’s more to do and more responsibility and more political intrigue."It can be challenging for an actor to join a show so late into its run, but Ronin has embraced that challenge. "It has been incredible to walk into a show that's been TV royalty for so many years. You walk in on set, and you get to play with your favorite actors, your favorite characters, and favorite world. It's really quite remarkable."Regarding Polivanov's ultimate allegiances on the Red Planet, the series has made the most of Ronin's instinctive skills to present a mercurial, multidimensional personality who is much craftier than he first appears. Often leveraging his powers at will as Mars is being cut off from aid, even as he’s secretly hoping to become the USSR's next President.
