MAD ABOUT JOAN
When we considered who to interview for the “People We Love” issue, the choice was clear: Christina Hendricks, Mad Men’s voluptuous office manager Joan.
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With a silhouette straight out of a Vargas calendar and line delivery that would have made Bette Davis jealous, Christina Hendricks is a standout on a show full of great characters. But in reality, she’s perky, funny and sweet, in many ways the antithesis of the character that made her a star — Mad Men’s brassy, sassy office manager Joan Holloway. |
Congrats on the Emmy for Best Dramatic Series!
Thank you! You know, it’s just such an explosive night and everything’s amazing, and then you wake up the next day and everything’s exactly the same way you left it. [I’m] like, “Oh. We still won, right?”
Last year, it seemed only the critics noticed Mad Men, but this year, everyone was trying to get caught up before Season 2.
A lot of people did that. I did the whole first season, and I didn’t hear from a lot of friends or anything. They just kept saying, “Oh, we hear your show’s good.” Then, about a week before Season 2 started, I think a bunch of people crammed — there was a marathon on AMC, and they started selling the box set of Season 1 — and then all at once, in about two weeks, I got about 30 or 40 phone calls that were like “Oh, my GOD! Your SHOW!” And I kept saying, “I TOLD you it was good!” It’s been amazing, and it was nice to be on the red carpet on Emmy day and have the people doing the interviews finally not asking who we were. For once, it wasn’t “Who are you? Why are we talking to you?”
Why do you think the critics have gone nuts for the show?
I think it’s incredibly smart and beautifully written, and I think it’s stylish and sexy and adult. There aren’t many shows on TV like that right now, so it’s filled a void. I love that it doesn’t milk situations, and it never has a scene end and then have some character turn around and wrap it up in one sentence. I always think that’s disappointing when I see it in a show. I’m always like, “I already knew that! You didn’t have to do that!"
You’ve become quite the poster child for curvaceous women. It seems every article about you has to mention your body.
I guess I’m surprised because this is how I’ve always looked. I’ve had lots of people come up to me on the street — women and men — and tell me how refreshing it is to see someone like me on TV. That feels really good. I’ve always felt like a woman, and I’ve always had curves and felt beautiful.
Well, clearly the women and straight men love you for it, but we’re here to tell you the gays LOVE Joan Holloway.
(Laughs) That’s fabulous!
We must have seen at least a half-dozen Joan Holloway drag queens on Halloween!
That’s so funny, because Matt Weiner [the show’s creator] said after the first couple of episodes, “I know we’re a success if I see Joan Holloways on Halloween."
So tell us about Joan.
I think Joan is an independent, smart, hard-working, lonely, very multilayered person. She’s not just the queen bee strutting around the office. She’s also a best friend, and that’s what makes her rich and what makes you respect her. She’s textured.
How much of yourself is in Joan?
Every actor interprets what they read through the things they know, but I would say Joan is more a combination of the lines that are on the page and people I’ve observed over my life. People say all the time, “Oh, this role is perfect for you; as if it was written for you.” And I’m like, “Wait a minute!” (Laughs) I don’t know how I feel about that comment. I think I’m quite different from her, but I think I’ve learned a lot from her — especially how to dress. |
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