10 minutes with Christina Hendricks

The consensus was that you totally upstaged Sarah Jessica Parker at the I Don't Know How She Does It premiere. Was that intentional?
I didn't know that people were saying that! I really don't think SJP could possibly be upstaged - she's sensational.
There's been such a huge focus on your body, what do you wish people would ask you about instead?
I always get really excited about the projects I'm involved in. So I appreciate having the opportunity to talk about the work I do, rather than the way I look doing it.
What did you enjoy most about your year living in North London?
I lived just off the Holloway Road for a year in the late 1990s. It was a really excit- ing time to be in London: British fashion was booming, Britpop was in full swing and there was this energy that I'd never experienced before.
Where did you hang out in London?
I was a Camden girl. I'd shop in the market and go to all those great pubs by the Lock.
You're in the new video game Need For Speed The Run. After starring in L.A. Noire, did your Mad Men co-star Aaron Staton give you any tips?
He did not, but he certainly inspired me to want to do a video game. He was working on L.A. Noire for several months and it was a very involved process. It's incredible to watch; the character looks so like him.
What's filming a video game like?
One of the reasons I thought it would be really exciting was that it's more like doing a play than acting for TV or a movie. You're surrounded by all these cameras capturing you from every angle, so you don't have to keep stopping and starting while the director moves the camera - you really just perform the scene, so it feels very natural.
How does the filming process work?
You put on a special bodysuit and funny, tight little cap, then you sit there while your face and body are covered in tiny motion sensors that detect the most subtle movements. There's no lighting and it all happens in a very minimalist room.
Will your husband [Geoffrey Arend] enjoy playing the game or will it be too weird for him?
Well, both. He's a huge video game fan and he's really looking forward to it, but I think it'll probably scare him a little bit. My character is the protagonist's handler - she pays for him to get into an illegal street race and then speaks to him throughout the race to spur him on. Actually, maybe Geoff would find it encouraging...
Christina Hendricks appears in EA's Need For Speed The Run video game, which is out on 18 November