Mad Men will end with season seven. Ahead of the season five finale, Christina Hendricks covers The Hollywood Reporter and talks about the evolution of her character, Joan, and how she makes the character relatable. Although, Hendricks admits, she cannot condone nor judge what Joan did a few episodes ago (may contain spoilers if you’re not current on the show).
On playing Joan: “I thought [she] was such a bitch [at first], and I struggled sometimes trying to make her as real as possible because I thought, who would be so mean? People always ask me if I’m worried about being pigeonholed as Joan, but there isn’t another character like her. The show takes place in the 1960s and has such a specific mood and quality to it.”
On Joan’s prostitution: “The question is, what would you do to protect your family? Joan is raising her son all on her own. She has no help from anybody. So is it noble? Is it slutty? I don’t know.”
Co-star John Slattery on Christina: “People want to think because of how stunning she is that she’s just this torpedo, but she’s way more complicated than that. My first scene was walking in with Don Draper at the end of a scene in which she’s telling Peggy to, ‘Go home, take a paper bag, tear out two eye holes and put it over your head.’ I didn’t know what I was getting myself into until I saw her. It was that scene that kind of woke me up to the potential for this whole thing.”
Creator Matthew Weiner on Joan’s evolution: “She was not at all what I expected to cast. I thought Joan would be more like an Eve Arden type, that she would just be Peggy’s friend. Christina brought all of this power, sexuality and confidence, and I recognized this dynamic between her and Peggy. I thought, this is going to be interesting to see how this office works, especially since I had been so influenced by the books Sex and the Single Girl and The Feminine Mystique.” – via The Hollywood Reporter.
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