Kiernan Shipka Still ‘Psychoanalyzes’ Her ‘Mad Men’ Character 10 Years Later: I Really ‘Hope’ Sally Draper Would Go to Therapy
Kiernan Shipka is looking back on how “wild” it was to play Sally Draper on “Mad Men.”
Shipka said during Sony Music Entertainment’s “Dinner’s On Me Podcast,” hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, that playing Sally across seven seasons of the critically acclaimed series still has her “psychoanalyzing” the nuances of the role 10 years later.
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“Mad Men” debuted in 2007 and concluded in 2015. Shipka’s Sally was the daughter of Jon Hamm’s Don Draper and January Jones’ Betty Draper.
“What I thought was really wild was that I was watching her go through stuff that, at the time, I was feeling in a really natural way,” Shipka said. “But now as sort of an adult, I can psychoanalyze and go, ‘Oh, no, she was grieving there, and acting out.’ At the time, I think I understood her as much as she understood herself.”
The “Sweethearts” star continued, “As I get older, I kind of understand her the way that I hope she would understand herself one day with therapy. And there was something really wild about seeing that because it wasn’t that I didn’t know what was going on, but I didn’t know what was going on in the way that we don’t know what’s going on with us until later too.”
Shipka’s career has only taken off since wrapping the series. In 2024 alone, the actress has had roles in “Longlegs” and the upcoming festival favorite “The Last Showgirl.” She also will appear in holiday action film “Red One” alongside Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, and J.K. Simmons, who plays Santa.
Yet Shipka said that exiting “Mad Men” led to reevaluating the roles she took on, and even examining why she felt “untethered.” That introspection is something Shipka hoped Sally would do too.
“I think coming out of it, I was still so young that it was a little bit of finding my footing right and it was a was a weird time,” Shipka explained. “I think it mentally, emotionally [was]. When I look back and kind of pinpoint what I struggled with, I search for why it was that. I kind of lost this anchor in my life and because I wasn’t in school anywhere…I mean, I already graduated high school through Laurel Springs independent study. I graduated early. I just did the whole thing. I was sort of like a little bit untethered.”
Shipka went on to star in “The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” which marked her debut as a leading actress.
“Honestly, I was 18 when it started and I really didn’t think about it that much,” Shipka said of the headlining role. “I think if I thought hard enough about the pressure, I probably would have lost it. I was 18 when I started and 20 when it ended, and it really primed me for what I’ve done in my adult life. I got very used to long hours and responsibility and knowing a lot of lines and it was such a fun set too. So that always helps. There are days where it was difficult, but I look back on it and it was really fun.”
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