Being talked about may be devastating to some, but actress Darby Stanchfield admits wearing fake nails might have been the greater challenge... greater even than playing mother to the boss's kid.

Q: Was it tough to play someone intensely gossiped about?

A: It wasn't hard. It creates really good drama and interesting storylines. From a personal standpoint, playing someone judged negatively by her friends is not difficult. It made it really interesting to come to work to tell that story. It's really phenomenal how art can reflect life and I was able to draw on situations from my own life in which I've made choices and have been judged very negatively for them.

Continue reading "Q&A: Darby Stanchfield (Helen Bishop)" »

He's not just the oldest son of the show's creator. Marten Weiner is also one of the actors in the cast. The 11-year-old performer talked with AMCtv.com about his feelings about his character and working with his dad.

Q: What do you think of your character?

A: He's a little bit weird but he's different than me. It's not like I don't understand his problems, but it's not like I would have those problems.

Q: What's weird?

A: Some of the stuff that he did like walking into the women's bathroom. That was not like me at all. I thought that was kind of weird, but it's not like it's impossible. 

Continue reading "Q&A: Marten Weiner (Glen Bishop)" »

She's Betty's best friend. So what if she chain smokes while pregnant? Actor Anne Dudek gets inside the mind of Mad Men's neighbor with an edge.

Q: How weird was it to be playing a character that is smoking and drinking while she's visibly pregnant?

A: Super weird. I've grown up thinking that's the worst thing you could ever do. Playing the scene is not that weird because to Francine, she's not doing anything wrong at all. She's not knowingly harming her little fetus. That's the thing people comment to me most about my character. They laugh really hard, and they'll say, "Oh, that's so terrible!" They find it funny and sickening, and they really want to talk about it. That also speaks to people's wistful attitude. If only we could do things like that and they wouldn't have a negative effect on us. If only people could drink and smoke, and nothing bad happened. How horrible and sad and funny that it did happen and that people could ever live not knowing that.

Continue reading "Q&A: Anne Dudek (Francine Hanson)" »

Actor Mark Moses talks about growing up as the son of an ad man and addresses the questions surrounding his character, the hard-charging new addition at Sterling Cooper.

Q: How difficult was it to put yourself in the mindset of 1960?

A: Actually, my father was an advertising man on Madison Avenue in the '60s. He sold advertising for the Chicago Sun-Times, and he kind of lived the life that those guys were living on Mad Men. I grew up with guys like Duck Phillips and Don Draper.

Q: What did your father tell you about that era and the advertising industry then?

A: I asked him about Duck Phillips coming from England, and he said, "Well, he's going to have a Tattersall vest," and I showed up on the set and I had a Tattersall vest. He knew about hats: how he wore his hat, what he did with it... He had to make sure that he could sit in the automobile with his hat on. It was one of the prerequisites for buying an automobile. My dad has so many stories of guys who couldn't make the sale and ended up just crashing. Their lives were ruined because they just couldn't keep up with sales. They couldn't keep up with the young bucks; they couldn't keep up with the advertising world. It was a hard world to live in. They drank a lot, they smoked a lot, and there were a lot of casualties from it. These were my father's colleagues, and they were very, very entertaining men. My parents would always say the best parties were either with actors or salesmen because they had great stories.

Continue reading "Q&A: Mark Moses (Duck Phillips)" »

Continue reading "Q&A: Michael Gladis (Paul Kinsey)" »

"She's just like me," thought Alison Brie when she first read the part of Trudy, Pete Campbell's wife. In an amctv.com exclusive, the actress talks about her character's up-dos and the downside of pitching magazine stories for your husband.

Q: What was your audition for Trudy like?

A: When I first read the script, I loved the role and thought, "She's just like me, I'll be great." But a ton of people read for Trudy, and plenty of girls were called back. A week went by, and I didn't hear from the producers. I was crushed. Fortunately, a few days later I got the part. It turned out the casting people had screened another whole group of girls and still felt they hadn't found Trudy. Matt Weiner likes to tell me that he told them, "Get that girl Brie. Something Brie." Something about me said "Trudy" to him.

Q: After you got the part, did he give you clues about how to play Trudy?

A: "Just remember you love your husband and just be yourself," he said. "She's just like you." I remember thinking, "Fantastic," because that's what I was planning to do. Later, I'd get calls from people saying, "Your character is such a spoiled brat, such a bitch." And I'd think, "Great, the only notes I had were be myself." When you're playing a part, you're so on your character's side that her demands don't seem unreasonable.

Continue reading "Q&A: Alison Brie (Trudy Campbell)" »

Aaron Staton's character was the object of envy when he got a short story published in Atlantic Monthly. The actor discusses being in a show that elicits similar feelings from fellow actors.

Q: Do you see any similarities between you and Ken?

A: I do, especially his fun-loving side. Actually, it hit me about the fourth or fifth episode, when we were hanging out and just having a good time and Elisabeth started putting on this fat suit and we were all making jokes... We've been referred to at times as the frat boys, the three of us (Michael Gladis, Rich Sommer and me), and I was like, you know what, this really isn't all too different -- it's just that when the camera rolls, we get to say things that are a lot smarter.

Q: Are you ever shocked by what people actually said aloud back then?

A: I don't think I find it terribly shocking. In a work environment it's hard to imagine, but honestly as far as men talking about women, it doesn't really seem all that different to me unfortunately. What I find shocking is not so much what my character, what the other male characters say. It's more what the women say about themselves and what they say about each other... At one point Joan has a line where she says, "They made it so easy that a woman could do it."

Continue reading "Q&A: Aaron Staton (Ken Cosgrove)" »

He talks to Betty about Don and Don about Betty. Now he's talking to amctv.com. What kind of doctor is this? Actor Andy Umberger helps us understand the Mad Men shrink.

Q: How do you prepare for a role when you have so few lines?

A: That's really the easy part. You don't have to say anything. You just react. That's what, for me, acting is all about, an action and a reaction. It's really wonderful to play off what January (Jones) gives me as Betty and what I like about this is some of the reactions have to be very subtle. As an actor, I find that exciting.

Q: In those scenes, it's almost like your notepad and her cigarettes are saying more than the characters.

A: Yeah. Absolutely. She has those moments where "I"m going to smoke here." It's a nervous tick or a way to calm her nerves a little bit when something is very uncomfortable for her to talk about. And, of course, Dr. Wayne's notes, where he chooses to take the notes.

Continue reading "Q&A: Andy Umberger (Dr. Arnold Wayne)" »

Q: Did you have a favorite scene from last season?

A: I would have to say the Hobo Code episode -- the scene when the character of Elliot (Paul Keeley) was trying to pick me up in the restaurant. It shows Salvatore's smart. He's not going to let his guard down. It's just instinctual that he's protecting himself. Because in those days, people did not come out. It really was not an option, especially if you had a professional life.

Q: How do people describe your character to you?

A: You know this is so wild. I've gotten a variety of comments. A lot of people thought I was kind of sleazy. And that is the furthest thing from my mind. But then another woman in New Orleans said, "I'm just so sad for you. I'm so sorry for you." And I asked her "What for? Why? What happened?" And she said, "On the show. Why can't you just be happy with who you are?" That's the kind of response I like.

Continue reading "Q&A: Bryan Batt (Salvatore Romano)" »

An established TV director -- his credits include The West Wing, where he worked previously with Elizabeth Moss (Peggy) -- Andrew Bernstein helmed "Episode 6: Babylon." Nearly midpoint into Season One, it's an especially revelatory episode during which we get a glimpse into Don's origins, Betty's libido, and Peggy's talent.

TV is often described as a writer's medium. As a director what sort of input did you have?

Matt (Weiner) has a specific vision of what he wants the show to be. It all starts with the writing; when you get a great script you're half way there. With these scripts, you don't have to do very much. Anything I was doing was nitpicking -- little details, like dialogue. Also the nature of TV is you don't have much time. Once you get in there, there's so much to do before you begin shooting.

Were there particular challenges with this show that required extra prep?

They had a lot of research material to look at. Not having been around during this period, I wanted to absorb as much as I could before I started. Matt suggested movies to get a feel of what that period was like. I watched The Apartment, The Sweet Smell of Success and The Best of Everything, but when you walk on set and see everyone out of hair and makeup -- you get it.

Continue reading "Q&A: Director Andrew Bernstein (Episode 6: "Babylon")" »