Mad Men's Little Sally Draper Ready for the Big Time

Kiernan Shipka was 10 years old when she turned in one of last season's most stunning and adult acting performances, as the troubled daughter of deeply messed up parents Don and Betty Draper in Mad Men. It's been noticed.

"Are you aware that there's a little bit of a groundswell to get you a supporting actress Emmy nomination?" I asked this preternaturally self-possessed little girl.

"I am, but it's just an honor to be thought about that way, and that would be amazing." And, after a long pause, with a little gleam in her eye she said solemnly, "I am aware."

Shipka goes in another direction, in the Hallmark Channel romance Smooch, which premieres Feb. 5, just in time for Valentine's Day. She plays a fairytale-obsessed girl who's looking for a prince to marry her mom, in a story loosely based on Grimm fairytale "The Frog King."

So grown-up does she seem, that one critic asked if she had taken the role as a change of pace, maybe a way to avoid getting type-cast as a neurotic little monster.

"I wasn't actually really looking," Shipka said. "It came up, and it was such a wonderful project. It definitely was different, but it was equally fun. ... Zoe's amazing. I love her. She was like Sally. She was dealt a tough blow, but it's very different, and she just has a very cheery personality."

Was the work more relaxing than Mad Men?

"I would say nothing in acting, personally, is really that stressful for me because I love it. It's my passion. But it was a different experience."

The themes, and some of the action, in Mad Men are terribly adult. I asked Shipka if she understood what was going on, or if she worked in a smaller space, with the directors helping her deal with particular emotions.

"I'm not allowed to watch the show," she said, matter-of-factly. "I just focus more on the Sally parts and focus on her storyline. Of course, I do know the general storyline, but I'm not allowed to watch the show."