Judy Kain, who plays Peggy's new secretary, Olive Healy, in Season 3, talks about channeling her maternal instincts, friendships with fellow cast members, and the texting skills of Elisabeth Moss.

Q: You joined the show in the third season. How competitive was it to get on the series at that point?

A: Very competitive. I knew most of the actors who were reading for the role -- all really top-notch actors -- so I was very honored to get the part. I definitely hit the mark that [Matt Weiner] was looking for in that particular performance.

Q: Have you ever worked as a secretary before?

A: One time, I had worked as a secretary in a law office -- I guess as more of a receptionist. It was like a four-week replacement for somebody. That was my closest experience to working in an office. But the set itself -- the desks and the staplers and all the paraphernalia on the desk -- totally looked like my father's office. It was the same desk, the same staplers. I can't explain it, but even the ashtrays -- everything is spot-on.

Q: What did your father do?

A: He was a salesman for Bridgeport Brass, and they had offices in San Francisco, where I grew up. [The set] really brought back a lot of memories: the color scheme, the lamps, the furniture, and everything.

Q: How would you say you're most like Olive?

A: I guess there's a part of me that's conservative, that does sort of play by the rules. I'm a mother, so I think that's one of the qualities I definitely brought to the character. Now that Olive's son is off at college, I think she was really looking to Peggy as a bit of a daughter figure. I have a son myself. He's 16, but I definitely use those same concerns and queries that you have when you don't quite know what they're doing, when you think they're going down the wrong path.

Q: You've been in a number of TV shows. Have you worked with any cast members before?

A: Mark [Moses, who plays Duck] and I did a film together years ago with Elliott Gould, called Dead Men Don't Die. And we actually see each other because our kids go to school together.

Q: Have you become friends with any of cast?

A: Actually, the woman who plays Peggy's mother, Myra Turley, and I have become very close friends. I kind of knew her prior, and, when I found out I was doing this and she was doing this and had the Peggy connection, we went to a couple of the cast parties together.

Q: Do you have any fun anecdotes about Elisabeth Moss?

A: She is the most amazing texter. She texts faster than anyone I've ever met in my life. Her phone is constantly in her hand. She's like a speed demon with the texting. She can practically do it without looking down.

Click here to read a Season 3 interview with Elisabeth Moss.