'Mad Men' Breakout Star Jessica Pare Talks AMC Series

Fans are still buzzing about how Paré's character, a secretary to Don Draper, fares in the season-four finale.
By MTV News staff

Jessica Paré
Photo: C.J. LaFrance/Getty Images

On the season finale of "Mad Men," Jessica Paré made the leap from ancillary background character (who slept, on one occasion, with the brooding Don Draper) to a full-blown focal point of the show. Her demure, delicate Megan — Draper's fill-in secretary — eventually began a whirlwind romance with her boss, one that culminated in ... well, we're not going to ruin the season-four finale if you haven't seen it yet.

But sufficed to say, season five is going to be pretty interesting. The role of Megan is unquestionably Paré's big break here in the U.S. — as evidenced by her current popularity on Google Trends — one that comes more than a decade after she first began acting in TV series like "Big Wolf on Campus" and films like the Canadian indie flick "Stardom," which screened at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival. She's also worked steadily on both the big and small screens, landing roles in films like "Lost and Delirious" and "Wicker Park," and the short-lived WB drama "Jack & Bobby." (She also had a memorable cameo in last year's "Hot Tub Time Machine.")

But "Mad Men" is by far her biggest opportunity to date. And, oddly enough, the role of Megan is one that fits her perfectly. Like her character, Paré grew up in Montreal and is fluent in both English and French. Her father, Anthony, is a professor at McGill University, and her mother is a translator. Oh, and much like Megan, Paré loves children, telling AMCTV.com that she grew up in an "enormous family" (her father has eight siblings, all of whom have kids), and that she "loved" working with Kiernan Shipka and Jared Gilmore, the young actors who play Draper's children.

Oh, and if you're still reeling from what happened between Megan and Don on the season finale, well, you're not the only one ... Paré told AMC that when she first learned she had landed the role, her initial thought was: "I was worried that I was gonna fall down an elevator shaft."

What did you think of the season finale of "Mad Men"? Tell us in the comments!

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