Foundation's Lee Pace Talks About Playing a Whole New Cleon in Season 2 (Exclusive)

By Jamie Lovett

Lee Pace may have the most unusual role on television in Apple TV+'s Foundation. He has technically played three roles in Foundation as of its second season premiere, yet they are all one role, that of Cleon, the Emperor who has ruled through a "genetic dynasty" of clones for thousands of years. Yet, Pace's latest incarnation of Empire, Cleon XVII, is markedly different from his predecessors. That's due, at least in part, to tampering with Cleon's source genetics by those who would overthrow Empire. As of the beginning of Foundation's second season, the Cleons have had a century to drift further away from their genetic source material, and the Cleon that is currently Brother Day knows it. Pace explained to us at the Foundation Season 2 virtual press junket that awareness also alters Day in another way. 

"I think his belief system is different," Pace says. "He doesn't think he's a God. He knows he's a man. He is inhabiting the role of a God, this position that he's inherited."

And yet, Cleon XVII is still a Cleon, which allows Pace to have some fun with the character. "He still has a Cleon-sized ego, which is a lot of fun," Pace explained. "I had a lot of fun with the character this season. That's one thing that I have to say I approached the second season with is that this stuff is fun, This world is fun. There's an absurdity to it that we don't have to be serious about actually, you know? It's there for the audience to take it seriously. What we have to do is play these oversized characters in this oversized, maximalist universe. That's really what I approached the creation of this character with and though he has this big ego, he's also got this quaking vulnerability inside of him knowing what the cost is if he fails."

What is Foundation Season 2 about? How to watch:

According to the official synopsis for Foundation Season 2, "More than a century after the season one finale, tension mounts throughout the galaxy in Foundation season two. As the Cleons unravel, a vengeful queen plots to destroy Empire from within. Hari, Gaal and Salvor discover a colony of Mentalics with psionic abilities that threaten to alter psychohistory itself. The Foundation has entered its religious phase, promulgating the Church of Seldon throughout the Outer Reach and inciting the Second Crisis: war with Empire. The monumental adaptation of Foundation chronicles the stories of four crucial individuals transcending space and time as they overcome deadly crises, shifting loyalties, and complicated relationships that will ultimately determine the fate of humanity."

Foundation Season 2 features returning stars Jared Harris as Hari Seldon, Lee Pace as Brother Day, Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick, Leah Harvey Salvor Hardin, Laura Birn as Eto Demerzel, Cassian Bilton as Brother Dawn, and Terrence Mann as Brother Dusk. It also introduces newcomers to the series, including Isabella Laughland, Kulvinder Ghir, Ella-Rae Smith, Holt McCallany, Rachel House, Nimrat Kaur, Ben Daniels, and Dimitri Leonidas. David S. Goyer is Foundation's showrunner.

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Foundation returned for its second season on Friday, July 14th. New episodes debut on Apple TV+ on Fridays.

Editors note: This interview was conducted prior to the SAG actors' strike.

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