Elisabeth Moss: From Naif To Player On TV's 'Mad Men'
When Mad Men premiered in July 2007, the character of Peggy Olson was introduced to audiences as Don Draper's naive young secretary. In the seasons that have followed, Peggy has slowly become a talented copywriter and Don's protege, meanwhile trying constantly to create a place for herself in the male-dominated world of advertising. Her development has been a centerpiece of the series.
Elisabeth Moss, who plays Peggy, says she has learned about the character and her growth episode by episode, script by script, just like those of us who watch the show on television.
"I think that [Mad Men creator] Matt [Weiner] had a grand plan, which I didn't know, [and] which I'm glad I didn't know, because it prevented me from playing her as more knowing or more savvy than she should be," Moss tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross.
That said, certain fundamentals about Peggy's ambition and talents have resonated with Moss from the very beginning.
At the end of the pilot episode, for example, after having been seen as a hesitant naif in previous scenes, "[Peggy] sleeps with Pete — and I just really loved that dichotomy," Moss says.
A performer since she was a child, Moss says she's ambivalent about the impending end of a series that has spanned much of her 20s.
"It's going to be very, very, very strange," she admits.