New Yorker wins bit part on AMC show, NYC fan's 'Mad Men' for it

New Yorker Justin Zell hadn't won anything since he was 11. Then his luck finally kicked in last September when he scored a walk-on role on his favorite show, AMC's "Mad Men."
"I feel really lucky and humbled by the whole experience," Zell told the Daily News a day after visiting the set. "I loved every other entry in the competition and would have been totally okay if one of them had won instead of me."
But it was Zell's video, which featured him as "Mad Men" character Joan Holloway (Zell actually created videos for all six of the show's main characters), that "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner and co-executive producer Scott Hornbacher chose out of a group of 18 finalists in the "You Could Be on 'Mad Men'Contest."
"Mad Men" is a 1960s-set drama that centers on advertising creative director Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm. It is set in New York City and captures the ever-changing social mores of the era.
Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks and John Slattery also star.
The third season of "Mad Men" is expected to return in August, though the network has yet to confirm a premiere date.
Zell, 31, will appear in the first episode of the season, in a shot including Hamm and Bryan Batt, who plays Salvatore Romano.
"I'm a featured background player in a scene. I'm right behind the main actors who are standing on the street," said Zell.
"The assistant director showed me where I was supposed to look and told me that my motivation was that I was looking at something bad happening and I'm shaking my head," he said. "But less is more. I didn't want to draw attention to myself, because I'm in the background, but I couldn't be static."
Zell got into his "bar patron" character by donning classic '60s garb, including gray slacks, black shoes, suspenders and a V-neck shirt with the sleeves rolled up.
"Like what Marlon Brando wore in 'On the Waterfront,'" said Zell.
He also shaved his beard for the role.
Zell, an actor, said the role was his first in almost seven years.
"I'm just getting back into acting after working in theater administration for seven years," he said. "I just realized I wanted to do more of it, so I started taking odd jobs and auditioning. Now I'm part of the house team at the People's Improv Theater" on W. 29th St.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mad Men

If you're a regular reader of Baristanet, you've undoubtedly heard of Soprano Sue, Clifton-based chronicler of all things "Sopranos." Now meet Roberta Lipp of Little Falls, the Soprano Sue of AMC's "Mad Men," who along with her sister Deborah Lipp runs "Basket of Kisses," the biggest independent "Mad Men" fansite on the web.Roberta Lipp (shown left, with Mad Men creator Matt Weiner and her sister Deborah) won't give up any information about her website's traffic, though she does say "we have credible numbers." They also have the ear of Matt Weiner, who dropped by the site's season finale party in New York last year. "We've gotten the most attention from the media, from Matt Weiner, and from the actors on the show," says Roberta. "They have a lot of love for us. It's crazy."
Although it was the look and feel of the show that initially hooked the Lipp sisters, their interest soon went much further. "It's so full of surprises and the surprises are so subtle," says Roberta. "There's not a happy ending. There's not a big hug."
At 44, the same age as Weiner, Roberta Lipp points out, she wasn't even around during the time period the show takes place -- although some aspects are "a little familiarish."
The blog didn't get its start until after the first season finale, but the lack of fresh material didn't slow the sisters down. "We went nine months talking about 13 episodes," she says. "There was nothing on the air."
In addition to following the careers of the actors, awards, schedules, etc., the blog features thoughtful posts on everything from Don Draper's business ethics to recurring symbols.