They don’t make women like “Mad Men’s” Joan Holloway anymore – and that’s too bad because every office could do with a little more of her attitude, wit and killer curves. And if Joan is a knock-out, the same – and more – should be said of Christina Hendricks, the woman who infuses Joan with an inner-spark, making her one of primetime TV’s most intriguing characters.
In this exclusive interview, Christina tries to dance her way out of answering spoiler-iffic questions, but can’t help but reveal a tasty morsel or two about what fans can expect from the world’s sexiest office manager this season.
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Jon Hamm
Vincent Kartheiser
Q: How did you land the role of Joan?
Christina Hendricks: I auditioned like pretty much everyone else. It was pilot season. Didn’t get the full script at first, just the sides [dialogue], and went in and auditioned for the role of Midge, then came back again to audition for Joan again – then got offered the role. I received the sides for the Peggy role before anything else and because I didn’t get the script, just the pages, it was so bizarre because I didn’t know it took place in the ’60’s. It was the scene in the pilot where she’s at the gynecologist and this guy is saying the most horrible things to her in the doctors office and I was like, “What on earth is this show! It’s so messed up!”
Q: The women seem to have the most difficult wardrobe on the show, let’s start with the hair – do you wear wigs?
Christina: I wear little wiglet pieces, and then they blend my hair in. there’s just so much teasing and construction, my hair would just be breaking off. The just try to preserve our hair, little helpful things.
Q: And what about those tight dresses? A lot of people love that a curvy woman is so well-represented on TV.
Christina: Well, I do not wear any padding. Our costume designer, Jamie Bryant, is so amazing about knowing our bodies so well and knowing the things our characters would wear. We do tiny fittings in between, here and there, but she’ll have it ready for us. Out of all the shows I’ve ever done, it’s been the most prepared and I am always happy and satisfied, so that’s nice.
Q: Does stepping onto that set help you get into character?
Christina: Oh, completely. I think the clothes more than the set, more than anything. When you wear those authentic ’60’s undergarments they make you hold your body differently and those outfits are so tight and constructed in such a way that you can’t help but have a different walk and know that people are looking at you in a different way then when you’re wearing flip-flops. It’s so helpful.
Q: What did you study to prepare for the part?
Christina: I watched a bunch of films before we started, some of which I’d already seen but that was mostly because I was excited about starting the show. And I did want to look at different clothing ideas and hair ideas. But I did it more for that. My walk and posture changed as soon as I put those clothes on, so it was less about researching that – the clothes do it for you. They just make you carry yourself differently.
Q: I love Joan’s scenes with Roger Sterling, how is John Slattery as a scene partner?
Christina: He makes everything so easy. I really look forward to our scenes – every time I finish with him, it’s like “Thank you. Thank you for making it so easy.” He’s just so good at what he does.
Q: There is a two-year gap between seasons one and two that is worrying some fans, are their fears unfounded?
Christina: I think season two is going to be even better. Just like in season one how things were slowly revealed, you go back and could see it all brewing. That’s the nature of the show and there will be more with that.
Q: Have Joan’s values been tainted by working at Sterling Cooper?
Christina: I thought from the very beginning that Joan probably was Peggy at some point – ambitious, smart and young. Joan comes from Washington, she wasn’t raised in the city and took life in one direction, while Peggy takes another to make it work for her instead of being victimized by it.
Q: Do you think Joan is ahead of her time?
Christina: I think with my character in particular, I think she’s a forward thinker. She’s a career girl and does her job really well and I think she takes a lot of pride in that. And she’s also a feminine, powerful, sexual creature. And that to me seems very modern.
Q: So Joan could never be Betty Draper?
Christina: I really would have a hard time imagining that.
Q: What other information did you get about Joan prior to playing her?
Christina: The most helpful thing was that Matt [Weiner] told me my character was based on the book of Helen Gurley Brown, so I immediately read those and got a kick out of reading some of the advice. Highlighting and turning down pages, I think that was the most helpful.
Q: What do you think of Don Draper?
Christina: I think, like Joan, he’s very good at what he does. I think he’s dashing and I think that even when he gets himself in bad situations he handles them to the best of his ability. He’s a chameleon and also despicable.
Q: What can we expect in season two from Joan?
Christina: All I can say is I was surprised at some of the things. It wasn’t what I imagined and I was surprised and I think it’s going to be an interesting journey.
Q: Since it wasn’t what you imagined, what did you imagine would happen?
Christina: You are trying to weasel it out of me! (laughs) The audience knows Joan sometimes as much as I do. I only get what happens from script to script, sure I’ve done more research and soul-searching than anyone else about it, but I think the things you imagine Joan to be – the words you’d use to describe her – are slightly challenged this year.
Q: Do you get read the riot act on revealing spoilers to reporters?
Christina: We get that speech every day. We do a table read once a week when we get new scripts. Before anyone introduces themselves, Matt sits down and goes, “Thank you all for being here, it’s very exciting, I love what you’re doing… if any of you breathe a word, I’ll have your head.” So we’re reminded once a week.
Q: Does Joan get to enjoy some of those fun scenes with Roger in season two?
Christina: Well, we work in the same office. But you better take it easy mister! (laughs) We both still work at Sterling Cooper, that’s what I can say.