Mad Men star Elisabeth Moss: 'I've learnt a lot about trusting people' Everything about Moss, in fact, resists easy categorisation. By nature ebullient - she immediately begins chatting about the dinner she has scheduled later with friends - she is also cautious, especially as we begin discussing the fifth season of Mad Men, which starts here this Tuesday, just two days after it airs in America. The show's return, which was stalled by negotiations between its creator, Matthew Weiner, the cable network AMC and the producer Lionsgate, is one of the most anticipated events of the year. For months the internet has been abuzz with speculation about the fate of enigmatic ad man Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and the gang at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, the advertising agency where drinking in the middle of the day, shamelessly seducing secretaries, and men's hair pomade are all still joyously in vogue. Knowing that more details about the new series are precisely what I'm after, Moss looks crestfallen. I feel bad because I want to talk about things," she says. 'It's just there's an agreement we all made, which is to keep these things secret. As for any nuggets about her co-star January Jones and her new baby - whose father's identity has remained another source of online gossip - Moss nearly shrieks. 'I can't talk about her! I can't! She'd kick my ass! What Moss will divulge is that Peggy is unlikely to become any wilder, after the last series when the Swinging Sixties set in and she expanded her sexual repertoire, befriended a lesbian and experimented with marijuana. 'I mean, it's the 1960s, and she's 26 years old, and she's a writer, and it's Manhattan," Moss says. 'But at the same time Peggy's never going to be down in the beatnik jazz joint doing heroin. That's not who she is. As for her wardrobe, which was finally sexed up a bit, bringing Peggy more in line with the other women at Sterling Cooper who slink around in pencil skirts and figure-hugging sweaters, Moss says that this season it is more 'realistic. 'She'd rather be at work than anywhere else, and her clothes reflect that. I think it's about finding a balance between being taken seriously and being looked at as a sexual object. And I think she's finally starting to find that place. While Peggy may be the character she is most associated with, Moss has managed to fit an impressive array of film and theatre projects around her Mad Men shooting schedule. These range from David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow on Broadway in 2008, to the raunchy, Judd Apatow-produced comedy Get Him to the Greek (2010), in which her character enjoys a threesome with Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. 'You don't say no to that! Moss jokes. Next up is Top of the Lake, a BBC Two miniseries for early 2013, directed by the Oscar-winner Jane Campion, in which Moss will star as a detective investigating the murder of a 12-year-old pregnant girl. 'She's a very strong and tough person, and I think that something I'm a little more interested in playing now is strong, confident women who can fend for themselves," Moss says of her character. When we speak she is about to fly to New Zealand to start five weeks" filming. She and Campion have yet to meet but have had a series of marathon phone conversations 'about the script and thoughts about the character and stuff. 'She said one of the greatest things that anyone's ever said to me," Moss continues, recalling a conversation with Campion before she filmed her audition tape. 'She was like, "I know it's an audition. But you don't have to hit the bull's eye. Just get the dart on the board. I just thought that was the greatest advice. We're all actors, they're all auditions. It was such a giving thing to say. Moss's desire to mix things up - film and theatre, dramatic and comic roles - is a conscious effort, she says, both because it allows her to exercise different acting muscles and because it prevents her from being pigeon-holed . Other forthcoming roles include playing the daughter of Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline in Darling Companion, about a couple who have lost their dog, and appearing with Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst and Sam Riley in Walter Salles's adaptation of On the Road. 'I think it's up to you as an actor to make choices that are different, to stretch your ability, to not get too comfortable doing something you know you can do. It's up to you to not be controlled. Of course, if you play one character for five years, people are going to think of you as that character. But you can break out of that. Hence her decision to star in last year's West End production of Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour, as a headmistress accused of lesbianism. The role won her praise and ignited a friendship with her co-star Keira Knightley. We would go out on the town a little bit, or to her house for dinner, or whatever. She's just really sweet and really funny and fun to hang out with. We're both very similar in the sense of... how do I describe it? She continues: 'We spent months together and [by the end], we were both like, "OK, great. Time to move on to the next thing! I don't know if we're the kind of people that cry and are like, "Oh, it's so sad to leave you!" We've both been working for a very long time and understand the nature of moving on to other projects. The play marked Moss's third trip to London, which she ranks next to New York - her home when not filming Mad Men - in terms of favourite cities. I lived in Covent Garden, right in the middle of everything. I loved it. Not that she considers herself much of an anglophile, even though her father is from Birmingham (more about him she won't give away - when things start to get too personal, Moss resorts to shrugs and nervous giggles). 'I'm very much American," she says, insisting that growing up, 'There was no tea." Her eyes grow wide at this disclosure. 'You probably should not print that, by the way, that I don't like tea. That'll be on the cover: "Elisabeth Moss Does Not Like Tea." I'll be ostracised by the entire British country! Moss is more open about her impossibly cool-sounding American mother, a jazz and blues harmonica player who has jammed with BB King. One of Moss's first memories is being backstage at the Blue Note in New York when she was five. The entire household was artistic - Moss's father is a musician and music manager, her younger brother is a filmmaker - so it was only natural for her to begin acting and studying ballet practically as soon as she could walk. She pursued both seriously for years - education came in the form of home schooling - but at 15, when she got her break playing a burns victim in the film Girl, Interrupted (1999), decided to commit herself to acting. At 17 she landed a regular gig on The West Wing, as Zoey Bartlet, the president's youngest daughter. West Wing was definitely a huge marker," she says, adding that it was the first time people started recognising her in the street. Something else her family introduced her to was Scientology, which Moss made a conscious decision to embrace. 'There's always kind of a time where you need to... It's not the same thing as going to church on Sunday. It's self-applied. It involves reading - you have to make a choice. Asked what drew her to Scientology, she says, 'Some people say that yoga really helps them to feel centred. And some people feel that being vegan" - she looks around the café with a knowing look - 'is something that makes them more of themselves. Or Kaballah. Or there's Buddhism or whatever. I mean, I think that for me it's one thing that has helped me at times, and it's kind of as simple as that. One of those times may have been during her much-publicised split from the Saturday Night Live comedian Fred Armisen, whom she divorced last May; the couple had separated after just eight months of marriage. Some reports blamed Moss" devotion to Scientology as the reason for the break-up. Moss becomes uncomfortable when the subject is brought up, and a pale blush crosses her cheeks. What can I say about it?" she begins, and then pauses, nervously fidgeting with her glass. I think that I am very happy now," she says carefully. 'And, I've learnt a lot, that's for sure. I learnt a lot about" - pause - 'trusting people." She becomes quiet again, playing idly with a silver pendant around her neck that has '1907" engraved on one side. This is something I got at an amazing vintage jewellery shop in New York," she says. 'The reason I bought it is because it says "1907" - I think it's from 1907 - and then on this side," she says flipping it over, 'it says, "This Is My Life." And in regards to what we were just talking about, this is something that really sums up where I am right now, which is owning my life. And being in charge of my own life and not being under anyone's control. And to me that is something that is a very important thing I've learnt, you know, to make sure that my life is my own. She smiles shyly, as though she's just unburdened herself of something she wasn't even aware she was holding on to. But then she snaps back to life and takes a final swig of coffee. As she strides out of the café, smiling confidently and checking her BlackBerry, there is no doubt: Elisabeth Moss is absolutely in control. The fifth series of Mad Men starts at 9pm on Tuesday on Sky Atlantic HD and is also available on mobile devices through Sky Go