Christina Hendricks was being even cagier about season five of "Mad Men" than Matthew Weiner and Jon Hamm. But with shorter answers I got to ask her a lot more questions. I got up close and personal with that bright red hair, even lovelier in person than in HD, when the cast of "Mad Men" met the Television Critics Association at a cocktail party earlier this year.
CraveOnline: Can we say what Joan is dealing with this year?
Christina Hendricks: I can’t really say. A lot though. A lot.
CraveOnline: What was the period of uncertainty like for you when you didn’t know if the show was coming back?
Christina Hendricks: It didn’t really feel like a period of uncertainty. It just felt like a long break.
CraveOnline: Is the Joan walk something you’re conscious of?
Christina Hendricks: Definitely not when I work. It’s just all the mannerisms, the way that we become these different characters, the voice changes a little bit and the walk changes a little bit and the way I use my hands changes a little bit. So it just happens when I go to work, but it seems to come up on interviews and on talk shows and things.
CraveOnline: Are you getting any nice juicy long passages of dialogue in season five?
Christina Hendricks: Long juicy passages? Yeah.
CraveOnline: I didn’t mean for that to be a spoiler.
Christina Hendricks: But I answered it with as much information as I’m allowed.
CraveOnline: A lot of people like to suggest you for Wonder Woman even though it’s not happening. Is that flattering for you?
Christina Hendricks: Sure! Wonder Woman’s great so yeah. It’s this really funny rumor that really picked up momentum and it’s incredibly flattering, but there’s no action behind it. [Laughs]
CraveOnline: You’ve been having a great film career. Are auditions easier now?
Christina Hendricks: Absolutely! Are you kidding me?
CraveOnline: So what is it like when you go read for someone now?
Christina Hendricks: The nice thing is a lot of people casting movies are fans of the show so that’s a nice start. You’ve already won them over a little bit with that and they’re rooting for you a little bit more so that’s nice. It’s very hard as an actress to walk into a room when no one knows who you are at all and try and convince them that you’re the answer to their problem.
CraveOnline: Have you ever run into the same casting director before and after "Mad Men?"
Christina Hendricks: Oh, all the time, yeah. All the time. They’re usually very nice and say congratulations and that they’re happy for us.
CraveOnline: Did you know when you were doing Drive that it was going to turn out as intense as it did?
Christina Hendricks: I didn’t know how people were going to respond to it. I knew it was going to be an intense movie because I had seen many other movies that the director had directed and intensity is his game.
CraveOnline: When you saw the slow motion shot of you in the car, what did you think of that shot?
Christina Hendricks: I thought it was great. I was clenching the chair. I think he does everything so beautifully that everything looks like a painting in some way. It’s so stylish and I knew to expect that of him so I was prepared to be wowed in that way.
