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8/2/2019 Psm e Mossv4 Final Lores
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Girl
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3/7
regime shes tackling to prep or her new
role. Apparently, chasing ctional crimi-
nals around New Zealand demands a good
deal more physical exertion than brain-
storming slogans or Sterling Cooper.
Along with clothes by avorite designers
Rag & Bone, Cushnie et Ochs and Oscar de
la Renta, shes valiantly trying not to bringeight pairs o high heels to New Zealand.
Im a total girly-girl, she conesses. I
have, you know, a million pairs o shoes and
a million dresses.
That chic sense o style is one o the
most arresting dierences between Moss
and Peggy, particularly given the charac-
ters earliest sartorial disasters. (Shirtwaist
dress and neckerchie, anyone?)
But aside rom begging the writers to slip
Peggy a little rouge as they do or the prim,
proper and beautiully blond Betty, playedby January Jones, or the buxom and proud
Joan, played by Christina Hendricks, Moss
applauds the humble look assigned to her
ambitious mid-century working girl.
I would much rather have an interest-
ing character to play, she says. I didnt get
into the business to be a model. I can get
dressed up and wear something sexy any
night o the week.
Moss Peggy has indeed become one o
the most interesting and celebrated emale
characters on television. A bright, striving
secretary rom Bay Ridge who ought tooth
and nail to become a copywriter with an
actual oce rather than a desk in the Xerox
room, Peggy is a rarity in the male-domi-
nated world o 1960s advertising.
Despite being routinely dismissed and
degraded (early on, a colleague compli-
ments her work in a pitch meeting by say-
ing it was like watching a dog playing the
piano,) and ghting o sexual harassment
(she successully calls the blu o a handsymale coworker who claims to be a nudist
by stripping down to her bra and undies
and insisting they both work naked), Peggy
lands increasingly important accounts
and starts standing up or her ideasand
hersel.
But because Peggy is arguably the most
career-ocused woman onMad Men, shes
oten perceived as more uptight good girl
than sultry sex pot.
Well, she slept with Peter, her boss, in
the pilot, Moss points out with a school-
girl giggle. [But] I think as women in the
workplace, were constantly trying to nd
a balance between being taken seriously
and eeling sexy and good about ourselves,
and that applies to actresses as well. I think
Peggy has really been struggling with that
balance or the last ve years.
Many ans o the show, in act, haveadopted Peggy as their eminist poster girl.
Or poster woman, as it were.
I think shes the truest eminist, Moss
says, her voice dipping to a serious register.
Its the eminism o, Hey, I just want to do
what I love, and I think I should get paid the
same amount or doing it i I do as good a
job as a man.
Strangers requently approach Moss on
the street to discuss strategies or breaking
into the oce boys club.
Ive had a lot o women my age comeup to me and say, That totally happened
with my boss. There are these boys busi-
ness trips that Im not invited on, Moss
recounts sympathetically. So yes, Peggys a
character o a specic time, but Ive tried to
make her identiable or women o any age
and o any period.
Moss considers hersel a eminist, too.
You know, i you believe that your ideas
should be respected and i you believe that
you have a voice, then youre a eminist,
she says beore taking a long sip o a Diet
Coke and then reapplying some NARS lip
gloss, one o her addictions.
As or the addictions inamously por-
trayed onMad Mensmoking, booze, ast-
talking menMoss is rereshingly rank.
No comment on the smoking, she
says with a wry smile. O course I drink.
Im not a big an o whisky or vodkaI
just dont like the taste. So Im just a beer
and wine girl. Im also kind o a light-
weight, so like, two glasses o wine and Iamgooood.
Her most decadent indulgence is sleep.
I will stay in bed till one or two easily. I
would spend all day in bed i I could.
Moss wont get into specics as to who
shed currently like to snuggle under the
covers with, but she admits to being a huge
firt who goes on dates and loves boys.
The 5-oot-3-inch actress is surpris-
ingly candid about (and clearly reveling
in) her single lie since ling or divorce
ater less than a year o marriage.
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Waiting or Elisabeth Moss on the rootop
o Hollywoods Sunset Tower Hotel, its
impossible not to conjure herMad Men
character, Peggy Olson: the mousy hair, the
dowdy dresses, the prickly bookishness.
But the rockabilly black boots that ap-
pear on the poolside terrace belong to an
entirely dierent creaturea thoroughly
modern Moss. Sporting cut-o jeans and atantalizing black tank, with a edora crown-
ing her chin-length hair, the 29-year-old
vibrates with sexy condence.
Wheres the pasty skin o the requently
maligned 1960s ad copywriter she plays
on TV? Or the sealed lips o the prim star
who wont say a word about her love lie, let
alone her whirlwind 11-month marriage to
Saturday Night Lives Fred Armisen?
Not on this rootop.
This glowing, dewy-aced woman is
eager to open up. Shes cheery, unny and
sincereany girl would long to be her BFF
(and ask i shes down or trading outts).
Moss pops some gum and a big grin, olds a
stylish pair o gold shades into her low-cut
top and dives into gabbing.
First order o business: the startlingly
voluptuous photo spread she just shot or
Page Six Magazine.
People will be surprised, she laughs. I
dont walk around in a Burberry trench coat
and bra all the time, but its un to embracethat part o yoursel. I think every woman
has a sexy, adventurous side.
Moss, who is o to New Zealand to star
as a detective in the new BBC miniseries
Top of the Lake, conesses shes eeling a bit
seductive these days.
Sometimes you just wanna wear some-
thin real tight and show it all o, she says,
blue eyes twinkling. Lately Ive been in
that mood.
Any reason shes eeling sorevealing?
Moss goes coy, mentioning only a tness
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Sometimesyou just wannawear somethin
real t ightand show it all off . Lately, I ve
been in thatmood.
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dierences, and their marriage was o-
cially dissolved in May 2011. At the time,
riends blamed the split on conficting
work schedules. But Armisen caused a stir
when he stepped out just weeks later with
his 23-year-old SNL costar Abby Elliott, a
relationship that zzled as well.I still havent been able to put things
together as a responsible adult, Armisen
admitted to Page Six Magazine in Decem-
ber 2010. I didnt have a girlriend until
my last year in high school.
This past January, Armisen told
The New Yorkerthat he has treated his
romantic relationships in a cold way
and reveres platonic riendships because
things dont become obligatory. Im not
thinking, Im doing this because youre
my girlriend.
Moss, or her part, hasnt said a word
about the divorceuntil now.
Its so hard to talk about, she says,
growing quiet.
One o the greatest things I heard some-
one say about him is, Hes so great at doing
impersonations. But the greatest imperson-
ation he does is that o a normal person. Tome, that sums it up.
She leans orward, chin in hands and
brow urrowed, as she condes all this in a
low, measured near-whisper.
And I think thatsthats it, she says,
releasing a drawn-out giggle-sigh. Ive
never told anyone that. And I dont want to
waste any more o my lie talking about it.
So does she keep in touch with Armisen?
Oh, God, no, she answers quickly.
In act, Moss says, she very much enjoys
being single and all that that brings, hersmile creeping wider. I obviously want a
partner in lie, and I want someone to grow
old with, but theres also a nice time when
youre young to enjoy being you. Its un to
go out at night and not know whats going to
happen, she adds cheekily. Im addicted
to and obsessed with my reedom in that
sense. Im having un!
As or what kind o guy qualies as un,
Moss enthuses without a trace o irony,
Sense o humor. This is so cheesy to say,
but to me, a guy that can make you laugh
is everything. When youre old and gray,
youre going to want someone who can
make you laugh.
An e yebro w-raising answer rom a
woman who marri ed a man b est known
or mimicking President Obama and Joy
Behar.
That said, Moss bounces back with
perect comic timing, a pretty ace in the
morning is lovely!
The most essential requirement or arelationship, Moss adds, is honesty, hon-
esty, honesty. (These last three words are
punctuated with a wary eye roll thats easy
to imagine is directed at Armisen.)
HerMad Men persona has experienced
a similarly rollicking romantic lie o late.
When last we saw Peggy, she had beriended
a bohemian lesbian, rebued advances rom
ormer fame Duck Phillips, broken up with
her conservative boyriend Mark Kerney
and slept with a counterculture political
writer ater pretending to be a virgin.
She and Armisen met in October
2008, when Moss dropped by or a
cameo on SNL the night herMad Men
costar and pal Jon Hamm hosted. Four
months later, Armisen and Moss were
awning over each other publicly.
[He makes me laugh] more thananything in the world, she said at the
2009 Grammys, with Armisen interrupt-
ing, She makes me laugh. No joke. She is
the unniest. Really? Thats so sweet!
she gushed.
The ill-ated pair were married in a
simple, private ceremony in Long Island
City in October 2009. (Moss appeared
on The View just 48 hours beore the big
day and didnt reveal a thing about it.)
Shocking ans, the pair separated eight
months later; Moss cited irreconcilable
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Its fun to goout at night andnot know whats
going to happen.Im addicted to
and obsessedwith my freedom.Im having fun!
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fromt
op:frazerharrison/gettyimages;carinbaer/amc
More personal and proessional ad-ventures surely await Peggy in the series
highly anticipated th season, which
premieres March 25.
I am ecstatic with what happens this
season, she says, lighting up. I think the
audience is going to be surprised. For me,
it was very meaningul with what hap-
pens to Peggy.
Moss considers or a moment, tugs
her edora and hints that Peggys lie may
nally be catching up to her own.
I started the show way more condent,way more wizened, way more aware o the
world around me than Peggy was, but over
the years shes caught up quite a bit, Moss
says. Weve managed to come closer and
closer together over the years.
To be sure, neither the actress nor her
signature character should be underesti-
mated as simple Susie Sunshines.
I like that Peggys called enigmatic.
She doesnt always do what you expect,
and people dont understand her. I think
thats true to lie. People have so many
dierent sides to them.
On set, Moss can oten be ound hanging
with Jon Hamm, whom she considers an
older brother (he few to London to watch
Moss in the playThe Childrens Hourlast
spring) or playing erce rounds o the
board game Sequence with the cast.
She waves o rumors that January
Jones has caused strie on the set. (Last
August, Jared Gilmore, 11, who had played
Jones son, said o the actress, Be careularound January. Shes not as approachable
as the others. Everyone else is so nice.)
Januarys really un, a cool girl and a
great mom. Shes got her head in the right
place. Everybody loves her, Moss insists.
When shes in New York, Moss crashes
at the Bowery Hotel and glides between
ancy lounges like the Boom Boom Room
and the closest dive bar in the East Vil-
lage. She reads her horoscope regularly
in the New York Postand, true to girly
orm, her avorite place to play hooky is
in the aisles o Sephora.
Its the greatest thing anyone ever did,
are you kidding? she raves. I go to the one
in Union Square. Moss takes giddy delight
in lipsticks, glosses, ace masks, exoliators.
She recently got hooked on Lumiere eye
cream and, sounding like a veteran ad exec,
exclaims, I love products!No surprise Moss enjoys colorul
experimentation; she grew up in L.A. in
a close-knit artistic amily. Her ather
manages jazz musicians and her mother
plays blues harmonica. She calls her writer/
musician brother, just 18 months her junior,
one o the most talented people I know.
The born-and-raised Scientologist (a topic
she declines to discuss) requently taps her
mom as a plus-one or awards ceremonies:
Shes thebest date. She makes sure Im
well ed and happy!A one-time child actress (she had a
recurring role on the TV drama Picket Fenc-
es), Moss graduated rom high school at 15
and opted to orgo college or roles like the
presidents beloved daughter, Zoey Bartlet,
on The West Wingrom 1999 to 2006.
Her own TV habits (besidesMad Men, o
course) include Friday Night Lights, Break-
ing Bad and every housewie show that
pops up on Bravoseriously all o them.
Not that she has much time or sitting
in ront o a television. For now, Moss is
ocused on her adventures in Kiwi coun-
try. Im staying there or ve months,
she says. Its almost my equivalent o
going backpacking ater college, [which]
I never got to do.
As or the uture, Moss hasnt decided i
she wants children. I have a tremendous
amount o respect or my mother, and it
makes me want to be a really great mother,
she says. And sure, in an ideal world I can
do it all. But I think or now Im too youngto know. You almost have to get older to un-
derstand that youre too young to know.
Her biggest wish or the next ve years?
Id like to be surprised.
As she gets up to leave, Moss glances
back playully, biting the tip o her tongue.
Im probably gonna get a slap on the
wrist, she says, reerring to this interview.
But Ive just been such a good girl. And
sometimes you just want to be a bad girl
or a minute.
Mission accomplished.
Moss, who says shes looking for a manwith a sense of humor, married and quicklydivorced funnyman Fred Armisen (top).
OnMad Men she plays copywriter PeggyOlson, a feisty feminist looking to play withthe big bad ad boys of Madison Avenue.
One of the greatest things I heard someone say about[Fred Armisen] is, Hes so great at doing
impersonations. But the greatest impersonation he doesis that of a normal person. To me, that sums it up.