Christina Hendricks made a splash in the first episode of "Mad Men," running the secretarial pool with a firm hand and a tight dress. Since then her character has been in and out of the ad world and in and out of bed with Roger Sterling (John Slattery), while Hendricks herself has won two SAG Awards as part of the show's ensemble cast, and watched the show take home the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series three years running. She also landed Esquire's 2010 Sexiest Woman in the World designation in a vote of the magazines female readers. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
It's been quite a while since you finished shooting your last season …
Seven, eight months? I think we wrapped in September or October.
You've been busy since then, haven’t you?
I did a movie called "Detachment," and then I did "Drive," and then I did a movie with Sarah Jessica Parker called "I Don’t Know How She Does It." And I did Stephen Sondheim's "Company" at Lincoln Center, which was fun. So yeah, I've been keeping real busy.
When do you start back on "Mad Men?"
It should be less than a month, I would think. Our writers are back, so that's a good sign. But I saw Matt Weiner last night, and there's still no definite day.
A few months ago, there was talk that Weiner might not return, and that he was being pressured to cut costs by trimming the cast substantially. Were you worried that he wouldn't be back?
This show couldn't be made without Matt Weiner. He is the show. So I knew that something would be figured out. I knew it would be.
Do you have any idea what's in store for Joan next season?
I have one little hint of what might happen, and I can't share it. It might go away. Sometimes he'll give me a hint and that will end up changing. And I never say what those things are, because they might show up in a different season.
Do you actively try to figure out what's going to happen with her, or lobby Matt with ideas?
We do go visit the writers' room and try to squeeze out any information we can, but sometimes we don’t know until we get the script. And I'll joke and sent Matt texts: "What about this, what about this?" And he's like, "Oh, brilliant, really good idea." I wouldn't mess with what he has going on.
Given Joan's path so far – working in the office, having an affair with Roger, getting married and leaving to be a housewife, coming back to rejoin Roger and Don [Jon Hamm], but getting pregnant with Roger's child – I guess there's no telling where she'll go from here.
There's no telling. That's what so wonderful about the show. The characters never do what you think they're going to do, and we're as surprised as the audience.
