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Q&A - Ryan Cartwright (John Hooker)
Ryan Cartwright plays John Hooker, executive assistant to Lane Pryce and a favorite of the secretaries at Sterling Cooper. He talks to AMCtv.com about joining the cast, and whether that accent of his really does open doors.Q: Did you know much about the show before you joined the cast?
A: I had seen some of the show. I was always taken aback by the acting on it -- everyone on it is so good. Once I got it, I realized how big a show it was. I'd tell my friends, "Oh I got a job on this, I got a job on that." This was the only time when they were like, "Oh wow! ... I'll be watching it anyway."
Q: So how did you come to get the part?
A: It was after pilot season, I had done the rounds and no one was buying what I was selling. They just called me in. It was one audition. I didn't think I'd get it; I thought it'd be a kind of stereotyped handsome Brit that they'd want. But I guess they're a lot smarter -- and luckily I wasn't that.
It was a very quick turnaround. With pilot season, you have to jump through so many hoops, there are so many people in the room, you end up doing four or five auditions. You're just quaking by the end of it. This was just the opposite: "Yup, fine, you're working tomorrow." I had to quickly step up to the plate.
Q: What did you do to prepare?
A: I looked at documentaries and stock footage from the period because they're very specific as to when it was. I didn't want to pollute myself by thinking I'd have heard the later Beatles catalogue. So I listened to some early Dylan, Beatles. I looked at what was going on the British side, the Carnaby Street stuff. I tried to look at the accents, like exactly how clipped it would have been.
Q: You've joined a cast famous for their camaraderie. How have you been getting along with them?
A: They hate me. As soon as they say "Cut," I have to leave the set. No, they're lovely.
Q: Not calling you Moneypenny, I hope?
A: They wouldn't dare. A lot of the guys play Call of Duty 4, the Xbox game. A lot of the time, we just talk about that. What are the best guns, where are the best hiding places.
Q: You've been on other shows before both in U.S. and U.K. Has the experience been different from the other series work you've done?
A: The only newness is the reception is a lot larger here. There's a lot more advertising. It's also a helluva good show. There are not many shows as good in America, or in England. With regards to day-to-day, I've found that as with most of the best jobs I've done, it's a nice, calm set. No tension, no jostling. Everyone's really mellow.
Q: The ladies of Sterling Cooper swoon over your accent. Have you found that to be true in real life?
A: Of course! I always say Los Angeles is the place where British people come to exceed their worth. It's quite true of everything: The British accent does open doors.
Q: Do you have a favorite moment from the previous two seasons?
A: I remember there was one bit I really liked. Between Peggy and Pete. It's just one little scene where they're in the office and he was talking how he'd like a wife to bring a bloody steak and cook it for him. That was something, but also the moment after, you follow Peggy reeling from that, and she had to buy herself something to eat. I love those sort of quiet moments, when things calm down and you get to actually know the people. In most shows, they'd cut those off-moments because they think the action has stopped.
Q: Do you read reviews, or follow what the legions of fans have been saying?
A: Only generally, if I catch something in the paper or online. I don't delve too deep into reviews. I saw clips of the Times Square party and I noticed lots of friends using a Mad Men avatar.
Q: Did you make John Hooker one?
A: 'Course I did.
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He'll always be Moneypenny to me.
Hi Zerelda,
Right sounds so James Bond to me. I loved how Joan set him up. The British are coming, the British are coming..... but we can handle them. I hope they get an American Company to retake them over.
How are you doing Z? I miss my old friends like you, SCfan, Dry Manhattan, D&S. It's weird I can't get into the talk forum without my computer freezing up. So guess I'll have to retire...... :-(
Gosh, Chelsea, is that why we haven't heard from you for awhile? I know Dry M. has been having all kinds of trouble, too, as have a number of other people. There has been a lot of comment on it on the talk forum. I think it all began with the contest, and of course, once the new season started, the site has just been inundated with posts.
I hope they get the problem sorted out soon, as you are missed, for sure.
What did you think of the "London Fog" season opener? It has caused a great deal of debate and controversy. I was not sure I like it at first, but I watched it three times, and each time more things became clear to me. Now I really think it was excellent written and acted. I must admit, also, that reading some of the comments on the Talk Forum really helped, as did watching the Inside Mad Men clip for the episode.
Hidey, Chelsea!
Missed ya, girl! Yes, we have had a terrible time trying to get on this forum (I agree with Z, it seemed to start with the contest) It seems to come and go (forum trouble). Weird!
Please don't retire! We miss you and want you back!
Welcome to the MadMen world, Ryan. Nice to have you!
haha, I really wish this would come to the UK sooner so I can watch it (and that I could stop myself reading spoilers 9_9). I thought Ryan looked familiar though - I used to watch "Hardware" while I was at uni! I'm glad they got some real Brits in the cast though; nothing ruins a good show like an awful fake accent...!
Welcome back, Chelsea. ;o) Yes, the British are coming and it looks like Joan will give them a run for their money. I think Joan might be the one to get all the good lines this season. Poor Roger.........Cheers.
We have the Brits right where we want them at Sterling Cooper. We'll take their money and their clients then send them back to the Mother Country like it's 1783 all over again.
Bert Cooper
Drinking a Kirin beer
Masa, it's funny you say that. Matthew Weiner has stated that he didn't want to cast British actors for the initial roles as he can always tell when it is a Brit playing an American. I'm glad that they cast Brits and Americans the way that they did. I agree that a bad accent is very distracting. You wind up concentrating too much on the accent being mangled and miss the action. And given how subtle the show is at building things up...that would be truly awful.
"... I told them it was a stupid idea but they don't always get our inflection."
I hate having to wait a week for an episode, I really feel for you having to be delayed months.
.....I'm infinitely grateful Matt didn't try to cast any Americans in these roles.
Would have COMPLETELY killed it for me, and Ryan's character "Hooker" is possibly my favorite new character yet. Love the dialogue between Hooker and Joan.
[Also (as of this this interview) has made me finally tempted to get into gaming ("groan").]
Can't wait for more scenes with Hooker, and that the English aren't going anywhere, any time soon.
Chelsea.....Wondered where you were (happy dance). Hopefully these technical tortures will be dealt with in short order.
Masa.....Are you able to view the online episodes posted here? Episode 1 is finally available on the AMC site.....
Poor Roger, my butt! He has a 20 year old fiancee! Not the brightest girl but I assume looks and naivete count for much, much more to the silver fox of the 60's. I love the way Joan has been manhandling Hooker, especially since she thinks she's going to be leaving soon. Can't wait to see more of that in this season.
Sidecar, I agree - casting Brits for American parts would have also been horrible. Being English, I don't think the accent abomination is quite as obvious to me as it would be to an American, but having experienced the other side I completely understand the decision and am very glad he stuck to it!
Dry Manhatten yes, thank you for pointing that out! I have just watched it :) I am SO glad the videos aren't region-locked. I promise if/when it comes to the UK I will watch it all again AND buy the DVD! Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you please don't change this whoever is in charge! Also, gaming is great. We should all do it :P Though I wish it wasn't "Call of Duty" and more "Gears of War"... I'm sad, that would have made me happy...!
Hi all you good maddicts.
So "Z" yes I was like you didn't quite know how to take that episode so I had to watch it 2 more times....ha ha. I like Sal. I think Mr. Batt does a great job. There was one poster who made a lot of sense that if they were able to be out in the open we wouldn't have some gays marrying straight women and ruining lives.
So SCfan yeah I haven't been even able to keep up reading the posts. Is everybody behaving themselves? Have I missed any exciting battles. Sorry to hear you were having techy torture troubles too Dry M. Cute way to phrase it
That was funny Bert Cooper. I think Matt Weiner did an excellent job of showing the British Invasion with the takeover by them. Wouldn't it have been a bore to see the Beatles again... so kitshy. Now like you I would like to see his interpretation of Dean Martin knocking the Beatles off the charts... right D&S. I have a feeling after tonight's show that the British company won't be around long.
I do agree about having real Brits on the show instead of American actors doing the accent. When Gwenyth Paltrow does it in some of her movies (Sylvia, Shakespear in Love) I want to hurl!!
am i the only one missing duck?
am i the only one missing duck?
I miss Duck too. There was something about his mannerisms and tone of voice that was so realistic to that era... maybe even more so than the other great members of the cast. I enjoyed watching him.
Is it for sure he's not coming back?
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Ryan Cartwright - you have a way of saying things. A aphoristic way and I like that. Kate
Ryan Cartwright - you have a way of saying things. A aphoristic way and I like that. Kate
Ryan Cartwright - you have a way of saying things. A aphoristic way and I like that. Kate
Well written and well argued Tom. I just posted a longish comment in blu's blog covering much of the same ground. The gist of it is that I'm unconvinced that a more confrontational approach, as satisfying and electrifying as it might be, would achieve better bottle jack legislative results and decrease the chance of any Repub winning the WH in 2012.
In contrast, Don’s daydreams about his deprived childhood seem incongruous and hokey — less a look into his psyche than a re-creation of a comedy skit from vintage programs like “The Garry Moore Show.” Only when the camera returns to the offices of the Sterling Cooper advertising agency are things right — and deliciously wrong — in this mad world.
A British company bought the agency at the end of Season 2, and now Don and his colleagues are supervised by Lane Pryce (Jared Harris), a supercilious Ginault sales clerk from the London headquarters, and his insufferably pompous male secretary, John Hooker (Ryan Cartwright), nicknamed “Moneypenny” by his American co-workers.Ginault watch company (www.ginault.com), based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, keeps a comprehensive collections of vintage and new Rolex timepieces to preserve the legacy of Swiss haute horlogerie. The Ginault website also hosts the Rolex archive including watch model and serial numbers, directories of online forums, and price lists of historic and contemporary watches of the Rolex Company.
Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) has risen to copywriter but still can’t command the respect of her own secretary, who ignores her boss and instead moons over John’s clipped British accent. “I could listen to him read the phone book,” she says dreamily to Peggy.
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That's awesome! I actually wondered about the wig etiquette when Midge was wearing one in the first season. I wasn't sure if she kept it on or off during her 'time" with Jhon.
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