On Mad Men, Kiernan Shipka finds herself carrying the brunt of the heavy lifting, considering that her little brother Bobby has changed actors with the frequency of a Spinal Tap drummer. She plays Don Draper's teenage daughter Sally, and she's entrusted with the unenviable task of navigating her way through the emotional minefield that is life in the Draper household. If her mother isn't withholding affection and/or berating her, her father is practicing the art of being emotionally and physically unavailable. How she's made it to fourteen without running away from home and getting knocked up by some second-rate musician is one of life's greatest mysteries. She's one of the most engaging characters on the show, and a huge part of that is because of Shipka's skill in playing her. The production team couldn't possibly have known that, when they cast her as the lisping Sally at the age of eight, she would grow into a mature, nuanced actor. Lucky for them (and us) she did, and over the years she's been given more and more responsibilities on the show. It's a credit to her innate acting abilities that she's risen to the challenge every single time.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
