--- title: Mad Men: Linda Cardellini on the Show's Secrets, Sex Scenes and Finale description: "Everybody knows people who pretend to be one thing and are something else" canonical: https://time.com/3859660/linda-cardellini-mad-men/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-15T17:52:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:58.102Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Linda Cardellini on Mad Men's Secrets, Books and Sex Scenes og:description: "Everybody knows people who pretend to be one thing and are something else" og:url: https://time.com/3859660/linda-cardellini-mad-men/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fe1a8e4b7a0ca1c/6987efddcd6848645509e0ad/cardellini.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: cardellini og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Linda Cardellini on Mad Men's Secrets, Books and Sex Scenes twitter:description: "Everybody knows people who pretend to be one thing and are something else" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8fe1a8e4b7a0ca1c/6987efddcd6848645509e0ad/cardellini.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Linda Cardellini on _Mad Men's_ Secrets and Sex Scenes > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley May 15, 2015 5:52 PM UTC  Jon Hamm as Don Draper and Linda Cardellini as Sylvia Rosen on "Mad Men," Season 7B, Episode 9. Jon Hamm as Don Draper and Linda Cardellini as Sylvia Rosen on "Mad Men," Season 7B, Episode 9.Courtesy of AMC by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley May 15, 2015 5:52 PM UTC Don Draper [has been with a lot of women](http://time.com/3850265/don-draper-women-chart/) on _Mad Men_, but his affair with neighbor Sylvia Rosen (played by Linda Cardellini) was one of the most memorable: It was even more tinged with guilt and questions of morality than many of his other liaisons, and Sylvia’s somber distance made for a good foil to Don’s then-wife, Megan. When we see Sylvia again in the second part of Season 7, in an elevator with her husband, Don and Diana, it’s obvious that the dalliance had effects on her marriage—but also that life more or less went on for both of them. We caught up with Linda Cardellini ahead of the finale to talk about the end of _Mad Men_. **TIME:** **What was your favorite scene to shoot on Mad Men?** **Linda Cardellini:** The hotel stuff, when he locks me in the hotel—that was really fun to shoot because it was so out of the norm for both of them. John Slattery was the director, and I knew him from working on a film called _Return_. He was one of the only people I knew when I came to _Mad Men._ He’s smart and funny and kind, and he’s a great actor and he’s a good director too. I definitely felt more vulnerable doing that episode—except for when Sally is supposed to walk in on the two of them, I think those are two of the most vulnerable scenes. One of my favorite scenes, too, is with the phone call to Don before he helps Mitchell. **Was Jon Hamm actually talking to you during that scene?** Yeah, he is literally talking to me. Sometimes in the room, sometimes on the line, but you’re never on your own. **In the episode where Sylvia is waiting for Don in a hotel room, she reads** **_The Last Picture Show_** **. Did you read it while you were working on the scene?** Oh, I was definitely reading it while I could. Larry McMurtry is one of my favorite writers—he wrote _Lonesome Dove_, so it came full circle for me. **Did Matt Weiner have a meeting with you as you started on what he had in mind for Sylvia?** Yeah, he did. I think I had one line at the end of the first episode I was in, and he said, “Don’t worry—great things are coming.” So from then on, I trusted him. But we talked a lot about Sylvia. Every chance I could get I would ask him questions to discover who she was. **How does it work to audition for a character like that when Weiner is so secretive about what happens?** You audition with scenes and sides that have nothing to do with, and give away nothing about, your character. **And the scenes never end up on the show?** Not in the way you thought of. Not in the way you prepared them or read them. **I love that your character is a vessel for the show to deal with the theme of religion. Was that interesting for you?** Definitely. Her cross on her neck was something that she always wore. She’s very judgmental with Megan when Megan thought she was pregnant—it just goes to show what a hypocrite she can be. **Did you grow up with religion?** Yeah, I grew up Catholic. **Did you know anybody like this character?** I think everybody knows people who pretend to be one thing and are something else. I don’t know that it necessarily is something that’s just about religion, I think that happens with people in general. People lie. People are disloyal. It’s funny, because it’s something that we deal with in _Bloodline_ as well. The catchphrase for that is, “We’re not bad people, but we did a bad thing.” I feel like that’s something Sylvia feels, too. I don’t know if she necessarily thinks she’s a bad person. At times she grapples with herself, but she gets over it and moves forward. **Is there a character you wish Sylvia could have interacted with?** No—I love the way that she’s separate from the rest of Don’s world. **But surely there are actors you must have wanted to work with.** Oh sure, I’m a huge fan. I’d already worked with Jon, and I worked with Vincent \[Kartheiser\] when I was younger, too, in a movie with Andy Garcia called _The Unsaid_. But I would have loved to work with Peggy or Joan or Betty—they’re just such great characters. **What are your plans for viewing the finale?** I just want to watch it somewhere where it’s quiet and I don’t miss anything! I’m so excited to see the end of it. When I was on the show, even the episodes that I wasn’t in, they invited me to the table reads, and I didn’t want to go, because I love the element of surprise. You’ve been with the characters for so long, you feel like you know them, and to be able to see what’s going to unfold for them—I want to be surprised. ### The 10 Best Outfits From Mad Men  Betty’s floral dress Her outfit for lunch with future husband Henry is quintessential Betty, with soft colors and a fitted silhouette. Carin Baer—AMC  Joan’s pen necklace There are few television accessories as iconic as Joan's pen, always dangling over her chest and eventually insulted by a snarky young copywriter who sees its placement as a power play. Michael Yarish—AMC  Megan’s metallic dress Megan has all the glamour Peggy lacks, with a more fashion-forward sensibility than Betty. Michael Yarish—AMC  Trudy’s floral dress Trudy’s garden party outfit is put to good use when she and Pete impress guests with a mean performance of the Charleston. Carin Baer—AMC  Peggy’s pantsuit Peggy may not be a style icon, but she was well suited for ladder climbing in a loud vest and trouser set at a pivotal moment in her professional ascent. Jaimie Trueblood—AMC  Megan’s Zou Bisou Bisou dress Megan surprises Don and her party guests with a performance as sultry as her little black dress. Ron Jaffe—AMC  Joan’s accordion-playing dress Dresses are like armor for Joan, who wears this form-fitting number while entertaining her husband’s colleagues on the accordion—despite their marital problems. Carin Baer—AMC  Sally’s go-go boots Sally tries on a very grown-up look for an awards ceremony with Don and Megan, and finds herself in a grown-up situation when she witnesses Roger in a compromising position with Megan’s mother. AMC  Roger’s blue suit Roger always looks sharp in a suit, but his sartorial gifts look even more impressive when surrounded by hippies on the farm where his daughter joined a commune. Michael Yarish—AMC  Betty’s Italian dress For a trip to Italy with Don, Betty gives herself a makeover more befitting of her days as a model than her life as a Westchester mom. 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