Christina Hendricks Says Early ‘Mad Men’ Buzz Shut Out Female Stars, Except for Body Talk
Zack Sharf
Christina Hendricks became a breakout talent and earned six Emmy Award nominations for playing Joan Holloway on the AMC period drama “Mad Men,” but she says in an interview with The Guardian that it took at least three years for buzz around the series to include its female characters in a meaningful way. Hendricks earned press from the pilot, but she said in the early seasons it mostly had to with her physical appearance and not her acting or Joan’s series arc.
“Men started dressing like Don Draper and Roger Sterling,” Hendricks said of the early popularity around “Mad Men.” “Suits came back in, skinny ties came back in. It took three to four seasons and then all of a sudden people wanted us [the female stars] on magazines. We were like: ‘This is strange — we’ve been doing this for a while.’”
Hendricks was one of the breakout female stars of “Mad Men” alongside January Jones and Elisabeth Moss. “There certainly was a time when we were very critically acclaimed, and getting a lot of attention for our very good work and our very hard work, and everyone just wanted to ask me about my bra again,” the actress told The Guardian. “There are only two sentences to say about a bra.”
In her interview with The Guardian, Hendricks also touched on the misconduct accusations that were made against “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner following the show’s seven-season run. Writer Kater Gordon accused Weiner of sexual harassment, while consulting producer Marti Noxon said Weiner created a toxic workplace environment and was an “emotional terrorist who will badger, seduce and even tantrum in an attempt to get his needs met.”
“My relationship with Matt was in no way toxic,” Hendricks said. “I don’t discount anyone’s experience if I wasn’t there to see it, but that wasn’t my experience. Was he a perfectionist, was he tough, did he expect a lot? Yes. And he would say that in a second. We were hard on each other.”
Hendricks currently stars as a series regular on NBC’s “Good Girls,” which wrapped up its fourth season last month. The show’s potential fifth season has not been announced yet. The first three seasons are now available to stream on Netflix.
