Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks fits childhood dreams into a busy
mainstream schedule as the voice of Lois Lane in “All-Star Superman”

DC Universe Animated Original Movie now on Blu-ray, DVD

Christina Hendricks is truly enjoying the best of both worlds.

While the Mad Men star is grabbing the spotlight for more mature
mainstream opportunities as a judge on Bravo’s upcoming season of Top
Chef and as the new face of designer Vivienne Westwood’s “Get a Life”
Palladium jewelry collection, Hendricks is also currently living her
childhood dreams as the voice of Lois Lane in the all-new animated
film All-Star Superman.

Hendricks stars alongside Desperate Housewives’ James Denton
(Superman) and Without A Trace’s Anthony LaPaglia (Lex Luthor) in the
critically-acclaimed, hot-selling DC Universe Animated Original Movie
that poignantly captures Grant Morrison’s beloved, Eisner
Award-winning vision of Superman’s heroic final days on Earth.

Along with husband Geoffrey Arend (500 Days of Summer), Hendricks was
the featured attraction at the world premiere of All-Star Superman in
New York’s Paley Center for Media. The press corps and fans flocked to
the event, lauding praise and adoration on the actress for her roles
in everything from Mad Men to Firefly. Following the screening, the
crowd gave Hendricks a resounding ovation for her performance as Lois
Lane.
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Hendricks is at the forefront of a stellar for All-Star Superman cast
that includes Denton, LaPaglia, seven-time Emmy® Award winner Ed Asner
(Up), Golden Globe® winner Frances Conroy (Six Feet Under), Matthew
Gray Gubler (Criminal Minds) and Linda Cardellini (ER) as Nasty.

Produced by Warner Premiere, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation
and Warner Home Video, All-Star Superman is now available as a
Blu-Ray™ Combo Pack and 2-Disc Special Edition DVD, as well as single
disc DVD. The film is also available On Demand and for Download.

Hendricks sat for a few questions after her initial recording session
for All-Star Superman, revealing her childhood adoration for the
Superman characters, the trick to understanding the Lois Lane mindset,
a penchant for playing Dungeons And Dragons, and the new street cred
she’s earned inside her own home. Here’s what Christina Hendricks had
to say …

QUESTION:
Did playing Lois Lane have a greater resonance for you than most characters?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
It’s incredibly special for me to get to play Lois Lane because when I
was growing up in Oregon, the first movie I ever went to see at a
drive-in movie theater – and I think second overall — was Superman
II. I can remember thinking, “This is amazing.” That was my first
impression of what movies were – the adventure and action –and so this
is me coming full circle. Now, I get to be Lois Lane. (laugh)

And I have been talking about playing Lois Lane for weeks now. I’ve
been telling everyone that I get to be Lois Lane. It’s a big deal.
There’s a few characters throughout your life that everyone knows and
you’ve known your whole life. This is one of them. So to play Lois was
really exciting.

QUESTION:
Did you have any preconceptions about this role before entering the
recording booth?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
I think I probably had preconceived ideas about the role because I
grew up watching Margot Kidder. She’s my Lois Lane. So I wanted to
make sure that I did some research to know as much as I could about
the character and where she originated. I grew up on Superman and Lois
Lane, so a lot of the questions were already answered in my head. But
I just wanted to get a little bit more background, and think about the
original Lois Lane, and the intention behind the character. I didn’t
want to be copying someone.

QUESTION:
Did you have any favorite scenes or lines?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
I love the scene where they’re flying. I mean, everyone loves a
Superman scene when they’re flying, and Lois Lane gets to fly. It was
really fun to do something like this because anything can happen in
animation. You can dance underwater or fly over Metropolis. And as the
actress, you just are along for the ride. So that was exciting.

QUESTION:
What it is about Christina Hendricks that made you the right choice for Lois?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
I think I’m a good Lois Lane because I think I’m tough, and I think
I’m up for adventure and curious and spontaneous. And I’d like to
think that Lois Lane is all those things.

QUESTION:
There’s a lot of Lois in this film – she’s the emotional barometer of
this film, and she gets to do a lot of things she’d never done before
on film. How did you approach visualizing those emotional and surreal
aspects of playing Lois?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
I think in order to play the emotions of Lois Lane in a situation
where all sorts of fantastical things are happening, you really have
to know that this is a world this woman already lives in. For
Christina, these things are crazy – flying and going under water and
seeing the Titanic sitting there are foreign to me. But Lois Lane
already lives in this world. So you have to be true to her and know
that this isn’t her first time seeing all these things. And you have
to keep reminding yourself of that.

QUESTION:
When you were performing the role and going through these fantastical
scenes and images, what are you envisioning to authentically act the
role?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
The script is so descriptive – it’s so beautifully written and the
images are so perfect that it’s very easy to jump in and imagine. It’s
like being a child and just going along with the flow. It’s very fun.
And it’s all spelled out for you, so as long as you’re open to taking
the trip, it’s quite easy.

I closed my eyes several times while I was doing the lines because I
thought, “Oh, I can’t think about these people looking in here at me.
Let me imagine what this really would feel like.” And you just have to
feel the wind on your face. (laugh)

QUESTION:
How does Lois Lane compare with other characters you’ve played?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
I identify with Lois Lane in other characters that I’ve played and, of
course, in my own self. She is strong and determined, but she also has
a vulnerable side. She’s a woman, so she can take care of herself, but
every once in a while, you know, Superman’s got to come and save her.
I currently play Joan on Mad Men, who some might say is an incredibly
strong character, which is what’s so fun about her. But like Lois
Lane, you see moments of vulnerability and a softness to her. She’s
still a woman, but she’s a strong woman.

QUESTION:
You didn’t record with Anthony LaPaglia, but you have played opposite
our Lex Luthor previously. How was that experience?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
I worked with Anthony LaPaglia some years back. I don’t know if he
would remember me, but I did and episode of Without A Trace where I
played an agoraphobic lesbian. Check it out. (she laughs) One of my
better roles (laughs harder). I had scenes with Anthony LaPaglia where
my character was stuck in a bowling alley. But not just stuck in the
bowling alley, stuck underneath where they lift the pins. I had to lay
under the machinery and Anthony’s character had to talk me out of it.
Hopefully he’ll watch this and go, “That was that girl?” (laughs)

QUESTION:
This was your maiden voyage in voiceovers for animation. Did it meet
your expectations?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
It was kind of what I expected, and it was really fun. One thing you
don’t get to do (in live-action) is say the line a couple different
times with different ideas behind it. So it’s fun to actually get to
experiment with all those choices all at once. I think it’s incredibly
liberating to be able to go in and make three choices instead of one.
And give them all equal time, and then let the director choose what
they decide best suits the animation.

I think the enticement for voiceover is that you get to become a
different person entirely. No one’s looking at your physicality, so
you’re much more aware of your voice, and the power that your voice
has. And it’s really learning to act in a very different way. If you
love acting, which I do, it’s just another venue, another way to tell
stories. And that’s exciting. I want to do more. This was fun. This
was really fun.

QUESTION:
Did you grow up with comic books or any of the current fanboy fascinations?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
I grew up with my brother being a huge fan of comic books fan and
sci-fi and fantasy. So even though I wasn’t fully aware of what was
going on, it was always on the peripheral, just around the corner
(laughs). I don’t know that I did sneak a look at my brother’s comic
books. I don’t know that he would have let me. He was very protective
of those.

But we played everything. My brother wants to be a director, and I’m
an actress. So we played “Dungeons And Dragons” and “Top Secret” and
all those things. We would get up and act everything out. We were
oftentimes spies. There was a lot of James Bond spy stuff going on,
and a lot of “Dungeons And Dragons” fantasy. To this day, I’m
surrounded by the people who watch these things. My husband watches
films like this. (laughs) You kidding me? This is my life. (laughs)

QUESTION:
What is your impression of comic books?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
I think not only are comic books incredible entertainment, but they’re
great art. I got some comic books for my husband for Christmas during
the first year we were together, and when you open the page you really
have to retrain your mind to read a story in that format. It took me
a few pages to sort of be able to look at the grand picture, and see
this story and read in that style, and in the order that you’re
supposed to read it. You’ve got to really train your mind to see
everything. And it’s amazing, beautiful art.

QUESTION:
With your days as Saffron on Firefly, you are obviously no stranger to
the fanboys. What’s your best anecdote dealing with the fans?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
I have been to many, many Cons over the years, and it really has been
one of the most incredible experiences of my life. Firefly opened up
this world to me and it’s been absolutely amazing. Not only have I
been able to travel to all these incredible places, but I’ve met
people who are just so devoted and so excited about these projects,
and really unite together. I like the Cons because they’re places
where everyone is into the same thing – it’s this family of people who
completely understand one another, and a lot of them know each other
because they’ll go from one Con to the other. I’ve been amazed that
I’ll see someone in Scotland, and then I’ll see them in Texas. These
people are passionate about it, and you don’t see that very many
places. It’s really nice.

I’ve had a lot of weird questions (laughs), but for the most part
everyone’s just incredibly respectful and really nice. I had someone
make a Barbie of me from Firefly, and dressed it up and sent it to me.
The most fun was a contest to see who could write the best song about
Saffron — and they asked me to be one of the judges. You could not
believe how talented these people were. It was really fun to listen to
– I still have the CD at home. Every once in a while I’ll put it in
and be amazed. That was really cool.

QUESTION:
You’re impressed with playing Lois Lane. How are those fanboy friends
of yours reacting to you playing the role?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
During the recording session, my husband was sending me text messages
all afternoon saying, “I love you, Lois Lane.” It’s so fun. My father,
my brother, my husband, so many of my friends are gamers and into
animation and comic books. So I’m going to be the most popular kid in
town for at least a week. (laughs)

QUESTION:
We’ve got you as Lois Lane. What do you think of casting Jon Hamm as
Superman and John Slattery as Lex Luthor?

CHRISTINA HENDRICKS:
Awesome. Fantastic. Jon Hamm would be good as any superhero. He’s kind
of a superhero now, right? Everyone wants to be Jon Hamm right now.
(laughs) Don Draper is like a superhero gone bad. (laughs) And John
Slattery would be a great Lex Luthor. He’s just an incredible actor –
that guy can do anything. And he’s got a great voice. He’d be
wonderful.