‘No one tells you how to not fall on your face’: Christina Hendricks on Mad Men, stardom and her ‘spidey sense’

She went stratospheric in the hit ad agency show, but wishes it had happened 10 years earlier. As Christina Hendricks plays a Hollywood mogul, she talks about the whirlwind of fame – and what happens when it stops

It would be too much of a spoiler to reveal the dark secret at the heart of the new comedy drama Small Town, Big Story, but I can say that it’s huge, weird and unbelievable. In the six-part show, Christina Hendricks plays Wendy Patterson, a Los Angeles TV producer who is back in her small home town in Ireland to shoot a big Hollywood production. She has returned, successful and glossy, to the place where that weird experience changed her life – not least because nobody believed her and she was laughed out of town.

Hendricks plays Wendy spiky and tough. “She’s got a real defence mechanism,” she says. “Something extraordinary happened to her and no one has ever believed her. She’s built up a wall, not letting people get too close, because then she’d have to reveal this big secret that, again, they are not going to believe.”

Topics

The top 5 things no one tells you about retirement

Almost half of retirees struggled in the transition to retirement
MarketWatch - 3h
NCAA March Madness Men's Bracket Preview 2025: Where to watch show on CBS, live stream, watch online, channel

We'll get a look Saturday at how the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket is shaping up
CBS Sports - 6h
How long does the IRS give you to pay your taxes?

If you think you'll owe money to the IRS for last year's taxes, here's how long you have to pay what's owed.
CBS News - 2d
Did you know you could make your fantasy baseball league more like football? Here's how to do it

The NFL season is now officially in the books. If you're already wondering how to fill the void until football is back, a fantasy baseball league could be for you.
Yahoo Sports - 2d
How to avoid surveillance pricing scams that target you based on your data

A new investigation from the Federal Trade Commission reveals that companies may be using your data against you. Surveillance pricing is when a company sets the price you see based on your unique ...
CBS News - 2d
How much should you pay to do your taxes? Maybe nothing — if you qualify for free tax prep.

Major tax-prep providers like Intuit’s TurboTax and H&R Block say they can do “simple” federal income-tax returns for free. The IRS also has two different free filing options equipped for these ...
MarketWatch - 4d
What Are You Projecting on Your Business?

Self-fulfilling prophecies can have a profound effect on the health of your business.
Inc. - 4d
One Tech Tip: How to block your phone from tracking your location

Smartphones are useful tools for everyday life but they’re privy to nearly everything about you, including all the places you’ve been
ABC News - 6d
Friday’s Jobs Report Will Be Confusing. Here’s How to Make Sense of It.

The Labor Department’s January survey will include revisions making data for previous months look stronger in some cases and weaker in others.
The New York Times - 6d