January Jones On Being A Single Mom In Hollywood (& The New X-Men!)
Imagine Betty Draper, locked and loaded, brutally avenging the death of Don on the plains of 19th century New Mexico. Of course, that's not exactly what January Jones is going for with her new movie Sweetwater, but it's hard not to shake the petite actress' rendition of the uptight housewife as she explains her new movie.
Despite her national recognition as the former Mrs. Draper (plus her chillingly cold take on X-Men's Emma Frost), Jones is no stranger to roughing it. Born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, she speaks with a slight lilt and had plenty of tips for saving our skin from the Sundance cold. When we spoke to her at the True Religion party celebrating the premiere of Sweetwater, she explained the romance of the West and the wide-open sky (something the S.D.-native knows a lot about). Sporting a comfy red sweater and jeans like nobody's business, the denim lover (she picked up plenty of True Religion goods for herself and her son) talked to us about her possible X-Men: Days Of Future Past role and what it's like being Hollywood's most photographed single mother. Last bit of info we gleaned from January? Yes, that is really her actual, parent-given name.
We’re here in Utah and you grew up in a similar climate — do you have any great tips for winter beauty?
“Moisturizing. It’s brutal...so dry here; drink lots of water. I just started using Egyptian Magic. It comes in a little jar — I guess people have been using it forever, and I just found out about it. It’s just oils — natural oils — and I put that under my night cream at night. I try to exfoliate and not wash my face too much because all of the hard water is hard on my skin. Baby wipes and little tricks — I try not to shower very much. I try not to wash my hair very much. Whatever you can do to still stay clean but not use water.”
Westerns are becoming really popular right now, both critically and with audiences. As a native of the edge of the world, why do you think that is?
“I don’t think (Sweetwater) is a Western. I think it’s a movie that takes place in the West during that time period, but it doesn’t feel like a Western to me. There’s guns and horses and things, but it has a very modern feel to it. It’s just a very harsh film in the storytelling. If we’re going to consider that a part of the Western genre, then, I think the reason people like it is just because it may be nostalgic."
Do you think the time period of the wide-open West is one Americans find really romantic?
“Maybe. I feel like the landscape for this film was definitely its own character, but it’s just beautiful to watch. It makes the movie seem so epic even though we didn’t have a very large budget; we had these beautiful landscapes that brought so much to each scene. We were there in a rough time of year (there’s a monsoon season), so in the afternoon all these clouds would come in, and we’d have lightning and thunder and it led to some really beautiful skies, but it was tough filming.”
Photo: Courtesy of True Religion
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