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Emma Frost, Jones’s character in X-Men: First Class, is much darker than her pure-white ensembles. Frost can read minds and transform into a diamond: a diabolical and alluring combination. “Emma Frost was not in the earlier X-Men movies, so I wanted to make her true to the way she is in the comic books. I’m one of the most powerful mutants,” Jones said, laughing. “It’s fun to imagine what life would be like as a diamond.”

Lynn Hirschberg: Despite the fact that you are perfectly cast as the chilly, gorgeous WASP-ish housewife Betty Draper on Mad Men, you originally auditioned for the part of ambitious plain-Jane Peggy, the lapsed Catholic career gal.
January Jones: There was no Betty in the pilot when I auditioned. Matthew Weiner, the creator of the show, had no intention of showing Don Draper’s home life. I read for Peggy two times—it was between me and Elisabeth Moss, who eventually got the part. At the end of the scene, there was a casual mention that Don was married. Matt went home that night and wrote two scenes that featured Betty. I auditioned a couple of days later, and he made me a verbal promise that the character would grow. I took the part on faith—there was no script or fleshed-out character or Betty plotline.

Do you like Betty? She’s superficial, strange, and often mean, and yet fascinating.
I don’t judge Betty or necessarily understand her. The audience is passionate about her. After season one they wanted her to speak out against Don and his infidelities. Then in season two, when she did, there was a huge reaction against Betty. They want her to talk—just not too much.

Like Betty, you started out as a model. You left South Dakota at 18 for New York City. Were you nervous?
Not really. I was excited to be independent, but I was also naive—I just wanted to be rich and famous [Laughs]. I lived in an apartment near the Empire State Building. There were a billion girls in New York City who wanted to be models. After a while I was immune to rejection, which helped when I went out to L.A. to become an actress. In modeling, the criteria is purely aesthetic. So when I got to L.A., I didn’t care if they said I was too small, too blonde, too pretty, or not pretty enough.

You often seem to be cast as a villain—Betty Draper has a scary mean streak, and in X-Men: First Class [out June 3], you play Emma Frost, aka Diamond Girl.
It’s a huge responsibility! [Laughs] And I’m a villain. As Emma Frost I’m telepathic, and I can turn into a diamond, which means I’m very, very cold. I always wear white: lots of iridescent stretch leather, lots of sparkle, and ass-kicking white boots.

You will get a zillion marriage proposals at Comic-Con.
Great! That’s perfect! Comic-Con is mostly male, and I don’t really have that audience. And I’m really like a guy in a lot of ways. My screen saver is a picture of me with Eli and Peyton Manning taken at the Kentucky Derby. The most starstruck I get is around football players. I like the Pittsburgh Steelers—I was going to be Troy Polamalu for Halloween.

The free-spirited, wild-haired Super Bowl champion?!
Yes, but I told too many people I was going to be Troy, so I ended up going as Yves Saint Laurent. I didn’t do nude Yves Saint Laurent, although I love that picture. Instead, I slicked back my hair and put on glasses. I wore a tux with a bow tie. Unfortunately, people don’t know Yves Saint Laurent, and they thought I was the guy in the Six Flags commercial.

A lot of people—men and women!—probably went as Betty Draper for Halloween.
Who knows? But because of the clothes, I understand. It’s strange, but when the season ends I miss wearing all Betty’s underpinnings. I love long-line bras and girdles. There’s a sexiness about girdles—on Mad Men I wear them four months out of the year, and I see my body changing. When you wear a girdle, you can’t bend in the usual way. Your thighs are cinched together, which makes your stride shorter. You automatically get a wiggle in your walk. It’s sexy.

When you’re out of costume, do you get recognized?
Yes. The paparazzi are lining my street, waiting for me to come out of the house. And I’m always doing the same thing: walking the dog. My poor dog is getting to know all the photographers. I say to him, “Why aren’t you barking?! These aren’t your friends.”