Elisabeth Moss talks Mad Men, Broadway and feminism
On a frigid evening, Elisabeth Moss ducks into midtown trattoria Casa Nonna, sheds her winter hat and wool coat and slides into a corner booth. Although sheâs been pulling long hours and hasnât had a day off in 10âsheâs starring in The Heidi Chronicles, a revival of the Pulitzer Prizeâwinning play by Wendy Wassersteinâshe seems upbeat, even jocular. Moss plays the lead in the show (which opens March 19), a feminist art historian making her way through the â60s, â70s and â80s, opposite Jason Biggs and Bryce Pinkham. This is her second big role as a forward-thinking woman in not so progressive times. Before Heidi Holland, of course, there was Peggy Olson, the initially mousy but ultimately badass adwoman in Mad Menâwhose style evolution you can gawp at hereâwhich returns for its final seven episodes on April 5. Over a Moscow mule and lobster-and-burrata salad, the 32-year-old actor digs into these roles and delves, slightly hesitantly, into her life offscreen. Itâs a breezy conversationâso much so that we both lose track of the time and have eaten into her cover shoot [view behind-the-scenes photos here]. âOh, my God, how did it get to be 6-fucking-40?â she laughs midway through talking about one of her Mad Men costars. âDo you want to ride with me to 28th? Weâll just keep talking.â
So your scheduleâs pretty grueling these days? Yeah, Iâm a little tired. This is our fourth week of rehearsals. And I did Letterman last night. Howâd that go?It was great. I was pretty nervous. I d