Christina Hendricks’ decision to take a chance on joining the cast of Mad Men led to her firing from her former agency.

Christina Hendricks Risked Career For 'Mad Men'

Hendricks, 39, decided to take a leap of faith on AMC’s Mad Men. When the part of Joan came to her, she immediately fell in love with the character and the show. Her agency, however, was dubious about its chances of success and advised her not to take the part. After all, the agency wanted to maximize its bottom line – and an actress signing on to Mad Men didn’t seem like the way to do that.

"[My agency] said, 'It's a period piece, it's never going to go anywhere. We need you to make money and this isn't going to make money,'” Hendricks told The Guardian. “They ended up dropping me."

"I had been on several shows that were meant to be the big ones, that would go on forever, and they didn't,” Hendricks continued. “So there was no sure bet and I'd already taken a chance on them, and I felt, why not do the one you're in love with and take a chance on that?"

Despite having the confidence to take a chance on Mad Men, Hendricks grew slightly anxious when it came time for the show's premiere season to air. After bringing her mother and best friend to the screening of the pilot, she was reassured that the show was as good as she'd believed it was.

"I turned to them and said, 'Is it good?' And they both said, 'Oh yeah, it's good,'" Hendricks revealed, adding, "I said, 'Is it boring?' and my mother said, 'No, but I didn't like that he [Don Draper] was cheating on his wife at the end.'"

The second half of Mad Men's seventh and final season will kick off in 2015.