This week, we bring you five newcomers and returning acts soon to illuminate your screen.
Prevailing wisdom on the set of AMC’s Mad Men holds that the kiss of Don Draper is somewhat akin to the kiss of death—his romantic relationships are well-known for being fraught or short-lived, and in some cases, even a sign that a character’s days on the show are numbered. Such was the thinking for the willowy Megan Calvet (Jessica Paré), of whom Draper becomes enamored in the fourth season, and who, in a precedent-bucking turn, becomes his fiancée in the finale. It’s been a long year and a half since that scene debuted—Mad Men’s ardently awaited fifth season begins March 25—and a pivotal question centers around what’s next for Megan.
“I watched that scene again this morning, and I think the trepidation that my character is feeling mirrors my own, because it’s that feeling of, ‘I can’t believe this is happening, it’s all so fast,’ ” Paré says, on the phone from California a few hours before a flight to her hometown of Montreal. Indeed, the parallel is striking: Paré, 29, appeared in nine of the season’s thirteen episodes, flashing from the beautiful front-desk secretary at whom visitors gawked to an assistant with ambition and a believable, heartening maternal streak—a quiet enchantment that slowly conjured an allure as mysterious as her background. Or perhaps it had been there from the beginning: In a way, all we really needed to know was that Megan was lovely company—moderate, funny, and easygoing on a show where those qualities can sometimes be in short supply.
In contrast to some of her other work, in films like Lost and Delirious and Wicker Park, where the full character arc was clear, Paré admits she was piecing Megan’s fate together as much as viewers were. (She was tipped off to the pivotal scene in the form of an accessory: “[The props woman] came to me, and she was like, ‘I don’t really know how to do this without blowing the secret—but I need the measurement of your ring finger.’ ”) The challenge became how to play Megan simply, and sincerely. “Megan is a character where what you see is what you get, you know? There’s not a lot of scheming going on. She is relatively straightforward.”
But no matter how straightforward her character (or not, knowing this show), her rise through season four suggests Paré could hold her own in episodes to come—whether she becomes the next Mrs. Don Draper or merely another woman to haunt him. And while the likes of Peggy and Joan stew over the prospect of a possible diamond-sponsored promotion, Megan’s style—a fresh, dewy face, a careful updo, and lots of bright, perfectly tailored dresses—will be yet another thing to watch. Nearly all vintage finds, the items in Megan’s wardrobe typically require small alterations. “Well, sometimes not so small,” she says, laughing. “You know the pink dress, in the scene where we tell the other people in the office about our engagement? I think that dress was kind of a muumuu.”
The first episode of season five of Mad Men airs Sunday, March 25, at 9:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. CT.
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