‘Mad Men’: Linda Cardellini talks Don Draper, secrets and frosting

When Linda Cardellini signed on board “Mad Men” this season, she knew two things about her character — she was Italian American and married to a doctor.

It wasn’t until she received the script for the season’s premiere two-parter that Cardellini found out that she wasn’t just playing Don Draper’s downstairs neighbor, she’d be playing his lover as well.

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The recurring role brought Cardellini (“Freaks and Geeks,” “E.R.”) her first Emmy nomination, a distinction that, as she tells us in this video chat, fills her with a deep, abiding joy. Cardellini had plenty to say about the recently completed season, the questions she posed to “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner to help her fill in character blanks, and her role in making Don Draper an honest man. And, no, contrary to what Tina Fey says, Jon Hamm apparently doesn’t smell like frosting. But that doesn’t make him a lesser man in Cardellini’s book.

Have a listen, won’t you?

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