Alison Brie

Nylon, September 2010

“It’s absolutely surreal,” is how Alison Brie describes being on Mad Men, the AMC drama about a group of ad agency men (and the women who love them). Not because it’s got a talented cast, critical praise, and a cult like following, but because, as Trudy, the doting wide of Peter Campbell, she gets to dress up like Jackie O.-meets-Holly Golightly on a regular basis. “The clothing is just amazing. Her hats alone, you could write a book.” Sadly, Brie can’t borrow anything from Trudy’s wardrobe because the clothing on the show often has repeat wears. “I’ve tried to weasel out some gowns, but I haven’t stolen anything [because] even if I’ve worn it, it stays in Trudy’s closet. Which is something I love.” They’re a far cry from the collegiate outfits she dons as the sublimely funny straight-laced Annie Edison on Community. “I get people coming up to me to say that they just realized that Trudy and Annie are played by the same person. I just take that as the biggest compliment, because I do work to try to make the characters different-and obvioulsy the shows are so different.”

CHARACTER STUDY

How would you describe Trudy?
She thinks she knows exactly what she wants, she loves her husband very much, and she loves to accessorize.

How would Trudy describe the show?
She would probably think that it was a bit sexy, but would be put off by all of the philandering.

Do you have a preference between dramatic and comedic roles?
In my personal life I’ve always been a jokester. We used to do these shows at our family barbecues where I would take my sister and we’d make up sketches, a la SNL, but we were like, eight-years-old. [For] my most memorable one, I’d come out in a trench coat and do an advertisement for edible wieners-I would use a hot dog and pretend it was a penis. I was a little kid doing all these dirt, funny sketches, and our parents all thought they were hilarious, so I had that encouragement early on.

Why should people watch Mad Men?
Mad Men never disappoints, and this season is no exception.

Transcribed exclusively for use on www.alisonbrie.com only!