Ron Jaffe/AMCWith one song, a Mad Men star is born!
Jessica Paré is the name dominating the watercooler conversation today thanks to her breakout performance in Mad Men's highly-anticipated return last night. The new Mrs. Draper, Megan (Paré) had tongues wagging when she sexily sang "Zou Bisou Bisou" at Don's (Jon Hamm) surprise party.
Paré spoke with reporters this morning about the breakout scene, what's next for Don and Megan and kissing Jon Hamm! Plus, will Megan and Betty (January Jones) come face-to-face this season?
So how did Paré prepare to tackle the song, which was originally sang by the great Sophia Loren? "Well, I listened to it a whole lot, and Matt [Weiner] gave me some pretty comprehensive notes to go along with it, and then I worked with David Carbonara, who does the music for the show," Paré said. "Then I got to go into a real grown-up recording studio and actually sing a song like a professional, which was an amazing opportunity."
Paré revealed she's had no professional training, saying, "I like sing around the bonfire, in my car, in the shower and that's about it. I think I have a bit of a rock fantasy, which I guess a lot of us do, so it was a thrill and a gift to go and professionally record a song."
Paré said she had no idea how popular the moment would become. "I had a lot on my plate at that moment," she said of filming and recording the song. "I just was like, 'I can't believe I'm new on the show and the first thing I have to do is an entire song-and-dance routine for the whole cast of Mad Men!' That's really intimidating!"
When asked how she's feeling about her seemingly overnight breakout success, Paré said, "Honestly, I've been waiting for today and for last night for months. I'm really excited about it. I'm really proud of the work that I did. I could not be more thrilled or honored to be a part of such an amazing cast and such an incredible show. It really is life-changing in that sense for me."
Though Paré has no previous experience in music, she's open to singing in the future, saying, "I hope so! I had so much fun doing it!"
"Is there really any problem that can't be solved that way?" Paré joked of Don and Megan's living-room-floor sex, before saying the couple will face their share of obstacles this season. "Of course, it's not a show about people who have everything that want and are just happy. Obviously, there will be some friction between them. I think the seeds of it are pretty well sown in this first episode," she explained. "Definitely, she's a lighter person. She has more light to her than most of the characters. There is a lot of sarcasm and darkness in his character. We'll definitely see some more of that."
Still, Pare said fans will be surprised to see how happy Don and Megan are together. "They're actually happy. The two of them are really good together. They're a pretty good match for one another. We've never seen this side of Don, where he doesn't care about work anymore. I don't think we've ever seen him go that far."
Something we were just dying to know? If we'll be missing any interaction between the current and former Mrs. Drapers. "I can't speak too much to what's going to come this season, but yeah, I've worked a little bit with everyone," Paré teased when asked if she's worked with Jones. "I love the Betty character so much. I think it's a great portrait of a woman in that era. I also hope that we'll be seeing a lot more Betty and Megan."
What did you think of last night's Mad Men premiere? Do you think Don and Megan make a good couple? What did you think of Megan's sexy performance? Sound off in the comments!