Kiernan Shipka is just realizing how “intense” it was to be a child actor on the hit show “Mad Men.”
“I’m surprised because I really didn’t think it was heavy at the time,” the 23-year-old actor told Page Six in a story published Saturday. “I didn’t know anything else. … But looking back, I say, ‘Yeah, well, it was very intense.'”
Shipka was 7 years old midway through the premiere of the beloved series, which made AMC a destination from 2007 to 2015. She became a teenager in front of an audience of millions as she played Sally Draper, the daughter of Don Draper by Jon Hamm.
Shipka told Page Six that she “got really lucky growing up” with “Mad Men.”
“Just to trust with the performance and not really hesitate,” he said. “In turn, I didn’t really doubt myself and I found my abilities in a way that I might not have if they were stifled. … I’m very grateful for that.”
Evan Agostini/Invision/Associated Press
Fans of the TV drama will remember that Sally experienced numerous hardships, from her parents’ divorce and infidelities to her mother’s death, which Shipka helped bring to life alongside more seasoned actors like January Jones.
“I’m so proud of you,” Jones wrote to Shipka on her 20th birthday. “I feel a little responsible for you kid. You’ve become a success in life and in this silly world we call work. I couldn’t have asked for a better daughter or on-screen partner.”
Shipka starred in Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and now appears in “White House Plumbers,” an upcoming miniseries about the 1970s Watergate conspiracy that ultimately led to the resignation of then-President Richard Nixon.
Shipka portrays the daughter of E. Howard Hunt, a former CIA officer who helped plan a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington and was later convicted for his role in the conspiracy.
The show will premiere May 1 on HBO.
