January Jones Gets Messy For W Magazine [PHOTOS]

Mad Men‘s January Jones is featured in a very stylized photo shoot for the May 2011 issue of W Magazine. One most fascinating things that we learn from the accompanying article is that she originally auditioned for the Mad Men role of barrier breaking, career-focused Peggy – the role went to Elisabeth Moss – and instead, series creator Matthew Weiner created a role for her

Here are some highlights from the interview by Lynn Hirschberg:

Despite the fact that you are perfectly cast as the chilly, gorgeous WASP-ish housewife Betty Draper on Mad Men, you originally auditioned for the part of ambitious plain-Jane Peggy, the lapsed Catholic career gal.
January Jones: There was no Betty in the pilot when I auditioned. Matthew Weiner, the creator of the show, had no intention of showing Don Draper’s home life. I read for Peggy two times—it was between me and Elisabeth Moss, who eventually got the part. At the end of the scene, there was a casual mention that Don was married. Matt went home that night and wrote two scenes that featured Betty. I auditioned a couple of days later, and he made me a verbal promise that the character would grow. I took the part on faith—there was no script or fleshed-out character or Betty plotline.