Q&A - Deborah Lacey (Carla)
Deborah Lacey plays Carla, the maid who witnesses the escalating drama in the Drapers' domestic lives. Here she talks about working with the Draper children, subtle acting and her own personal ties to the '60s.
Q: Your scenes are pretty much restricted to the Draper household. Did you get a chance to mix with rest of the cast?
A: Definitely. I see them on the set when we're in between shots, in the makeup trailer, in wardrobe fittings. We talk all the time, I've met them all, because I'm not one of those types of actors who like to hang out in their room when I'm not working I'm on the set. I watch the other actors work, and I feel very blessed to be able to do so.
Q: What are the challenges that come with working with children? You spend a lot of time with those Draper kids.
A: The challenge is to be not so overbearing. You can't be too threatening with children, you have to open yourself up to their innocence and goodness and gain their trust. I'm fortunate in that I used to teach kids -- I had an acting school called Young Minds Acting Up in the early '80s. I've always loved kids and working with kids because with their innocence they haven't learned to "act" at that age. And I can learn from them by meeting them at their level.
Q: Carla has a lot to communicate without a lot of lines. Do you have a favorite silent moment?
A: That scene I have with January [Jones] when Carla comes into the study where Betty's trying to break into the desk and Carla tries to get into some personal conversation with her. That's one of my favorite moments because Carla realizes they're women first, and Betty has a relationship she can relate to as a wife, with things going on that are obvious to her without knowing the specifics.
Also the moment with Jon [Hamm] when Don offers Carla a ride to the station. A couple of people I know took that as him flirting with her, but he wasn't!
Q: How do your Mad Men experiences compare to your work on other well-known TV series such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, ER, or House M.D.?
A: The difference with Mad Men is the period in which the show takes place. The wardrobe is a challenge for me. It's the first time I've had to dress up in period undergarments and all that and perform in these tight things. I've played a lot of different personalities in the other shows, but I'm hoping I can draw on those performances in some way with Carla.
Q: Your first appearance in Mad Men was in "The Wheel," the final episode of Season 1. Could you sense a difference in the cast between the two seasons, after the show started accumulating awards?
A: I did, I really did. The first day I could tell people were proud of the show on the set, but nobody knew exactly where it was going to go, if people were going to appreciate it. But when I came back for the second season, everybody was excited. If it was a poker game, we were all in.
Q: You've been in episodes directed by Matt Weiner. What is his directing style like?
A: Subtle. The best compliment he gave me was that he loves what I'm doing even when I'm not talking. I've never been one of those who overacts. You try to be who you are. Matt's a really good director with actors because he explains humanity, what my character's feeling, where she's coming from, the mood, the tone of things. I just go with it.
Q: Has being on the show spurred an interest for you in the era?
A: I was the tenth child and the youngest girl in my family, so I had all these older sisters who grew up in the '60s. I remember the flip hairdos with the bangs and how three of my sisters would imitate the Supremes. They were also definitely aware and involved in politics, watching what Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were doing.
What's so amazing about being on this show is that my mother was a maid in the '60s for Bob Denver. It's not like there was a lot of opportunity for work for black women at that time. When you think about the history of what we've overcome, there's no way I could turn down this role. I would have to be ashamed of where I come from to deny that's who we were at that point in history. And how much has changed.
Wow, was the first question intentionally ironic? Did you think that Matt Weiner's quest for authenticity would extend to racial segregation of the cast on the set?
LOL - somehow I never pictured Bob Denver having a maid, of any description.
I hope we see more of Carla this season.
I loved the scene mentioned (answer to 3rd Question) between Deborah and January in Don's study...subtle, but exactly right, in both mood and the uncomfortable feeling of tension between them.
Good acting, there, Deborah!
My favorite between Carla and Don was the offer of a ride home. I saw it as "uh, no thanks Mr. Draper, you're bombed" which was very subtle and we saw it, but Don Draper didn't. Great!
I have really enjoyed watching Carla. She's obviously a key member of the Draper household. But I'm also very curious about her story and look forward to seeing more of her!
...I agree, Auburn Annie....Maynard Krebs/Gilligan just didn't seem to need domestic assistance, did he?
to Paul Varjak:
I didn't take the first question that way at all. January Jones has said in commentaries that she rarely sees the other actors who don't shoot scenes on the Draper house set.
It would be a logical question to ask of the actress who plays Carla, since she presumably would have even less contact with the actors on the Sterling Cooper set.
And I, too, saw Carla's great response to Don as "thanks for the offer, but I'd rather get home alive."
I might be getting my seasons kind of confused, but for a while there in a few episodes it was almost like Carla and Don were married because Betty was out of the house so much.
It was like Carla had to be a stand-in companion/presence for Don because Betty was bailing out alot at one point (I just can't remember exactly when). Poor Carla, what a crack up that was. Then she had to turn around and kind of be the same for Betty during the extra long Lost Weeknd period of Betty's life.
Ask for a raise Carla, these people are asking alot of you! LOL
I might be getting my seasons kind of confused, but for a while there in a few episodes it was almost like Carla and Don were married because Betty was out of the house so much.
It was like Carla had to be a stand-in companion/presence for Don because Betty was bailing out alot at one point (I just can't remember exactly when). Poor Carla, what a crack up that was. Then she had to turn around and kind of be the same for Betty during the extra long Lost Weeknd period of Betty's life.
Ask for a raise Carla, these people are asking alot of you! Don's a junior partner now - he can afford it! LOL
Like your clever screen name Paul Varjak - the George Peppard role from Breakfast at Tiffanys.
Thanks, jamm54. Yes, Paul would be a contemporary of Mad Men in 60's Manhattan. And he continues to exist in cyberspace. http://twitter.com/PaulVarjak. You can find Carla there also. http://twitter.com/Carla_madmen
Off topic (kinda) but, since you guys brought it up (jamm and Paul) --- who was the finest "boy toy" do you think? Paul Newman (Sweet Bird of Youth) or George Peppard (BAT)????....hard to choose, I know!
But, speaking for myself...I think I would have to ultimately go with Paul (pun intended)....those blue eyes and ...well, you know....not that George wasn't great, too....
I loved DS9, but I don't remember seeing Ms. Lacey-what character did she play?
I believe she played Sara, the celestial mother of Cisco (Avery Brooks).
"The best compliment [weiner] gave me was that he loves what I'm doing even when I'm not talking" - yes, loved the scene on "wee small hours" where she looks up the stairs (and we know what she is saying with that look) after Henry Francis leaves shows how great Deborah is with her non-verbal communication acting skills.