Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks Has a Need for Speed

• Tweet
• Pin It

Christina Hendricks’ Joan Holloway on Mad Men might find it hard to believe, but the curvy bombshell is taking on a new frontier as a digital babe in Electronic Arts’ new Need for Speed title.

With 17 games under their belt, the gang at Electronic Arts decided it was time to do something different with their Need for Speed franchise, and according to Variety, that different thing is adding in some Hollywood talent and an actual plot to provide more of a movie quality to their latest game, Need for Speed: The Run.

“It’s a different direction,” says Jason DeLong, executive producer of the title. “For the first time in the franchise, you actually see and control the driver. Obviously, the first priority is to have an amazing driving experience, but one of the things our fans have told us is that motivation is also really important. We wanted to work with Hollywood talent and tell a great story that serves as the punctuation mark to get the player engaged in the progression of the action.”

In Need for Speed: The Run, Christina Hendricks is a manager of street racers that comes up with the money for a “cocky wheelman” (The Vampire Diaries’ Sean Faris) to take part in a cross-country race after he gets in trouble with the mob.

While it’s a new direction for EA, it’s also something different for Hendricks, who has never starred in a video game. “It’s been fantastic fun to do something so different and to show a different side of myself as well,” says Hendricks.

Need for Speed: The Run will be released on November 15th.