Christina Hendricks Will Not Play a Stripper in Dark Places

Mad Men star will now take on role of Charlize Theron's mom in thriller

By Rebecca Macatee Sep 04, 2013 5:05 PMTags
Christina HendricksKevin Winter/Getty Images

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Christina Hendricks will not be playing a stripper in Dark Places.

Not to worry, though! The Mad Men star's rep confirmed to E! News on Wednesday, Sept. 4, that she will now be playing Patty Davis, the murdered mother of Charlize Theron's Libby Davis character.  

So just how is Hendricks, 38, going to play the mom of Theron—who's also 38? In flashbacks, of course! Per Deadline (who was first to report the casting news), producers offered Hendricks the role after actress Samantha Morton pulled out.

The film is an adaptation of Gillian Flynn's 2009 best-selling thriller, which tells the story of Libby (Theron) testifying about the supposed murders of her family years before. She originally testified that her brother Ben, played by Corey Stoll, was at fault, sending him to jail. When forced to look back at the massacre, however, her memories become clearer, and she begins to question whether her brother is actually to blame.

That sounds even more scandalous than what goes on in the offices of Sterling Cooper & Partners!

—Reporting by Marcus Mulick