Mad Men and Being Megan Draper with Jessica Paré

Episode 104 : Media Mayhem

Episode Synopsis

Mad Men is one of the most loved shows on TV, and we speak with Jessica Paré about her experience working on the show playing Mrs. Don Draper. She offers her thoughts on the production, content and mystery of the show, plus her sensational turn singing “Bisou Bisou.”

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Guest Bio

Jessica Paré can currently be seen in the sixth season of the critically acclaimed, Emmy® winning AMC Original Series, Mad Men. In 2010, Paré joined the cast as the front desk receptionist, Megan Calvet, who quickly garners the attention of Jon Hamm’s Don Draper, culminating in a marriage proposal in the season four finale. She has garnered critical acclaim, especially for her slinky rendition of the early-60s French pop hit, “Zou Bisou Bisou.” Paré recorded the song herself, and her version of the song Sophia Loren performed for the movie The Millionaires proved so popular that it became a hit download on iTunes and reached #1 on the Billboard World chart.

Paré previously starred in the WB show, Jack & Bobby alongside John Slattery and Logan Lerman. Paré starred as eventual First Lady, Courtney Benedict’ in the series created by Greg Berlanti, Brad Meltzer and Thomas Schlamme, which followed the lives of teenaged Jack and Bobby (Robert) McCallister, as they attend high school and mature into adulthood.

Paré has starred in a variety of films in both her native Canada, and in the U.S. In 2000, Paré had her breakthrough performance when she was handpicked by director, Denys Arcand, to star as the lead in his film, Stardom, after initially only auditioning for a bit part in the film. Stardom told the story of a teen girl who is plucked from obscurity of a girl’s hockey team, to become a supermodel. The film was screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and launched Paré’s budding career.

Paré made her Hollywood debut in Wicker Park, a remake of the French film, L’Appartement. Other credits include Jerry Ciccoritti’s Lives of the Saints, Deepa Mehta’s Bollywood/Hollywood, Jacob Tierney’s The Trotskyand Rob Stefaniuk’s SUCK.

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Episode Breakdown

00:01 Coming up on Media Mayhem.

01:10 Welcoming Jessica Paré.

02:39 Growing up into acting.

04:48 From starting in the secretarial pool to “Bisou Bisou.”

08:40 Working with Jon Hamm as a director and co-star.

12:02 The cleaning scene and the power dynamic of the Drapers.

16:22 Being cheated on by Don Draper.

21:50 Social media and promoting the show.

26:29 Response to feminism and the Mad Men world.

31:57 Criticism of the show.

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Hosted By

Allison Hope Weiner was a Century City entertainment litigator before she began writing about Hollywood as a journalist. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Southern California Law Center, she joined the legendary firm of Wyman, Bautzer—where she represented entertainers and corporate media clients.

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