Crista Flanagan of 'Mad Men' Sheds Nerdy Image -- and Clothes -- in Playboy

By PopEater Staff Posted Jul 20th 2010 08:56AM

On 'Mad Men,' Crista Flanagan plays an awkward and unlucky-in-love switchboard operator. In Playboy, the actress sheds that nerdy image -- plus, ya know, her clothes -- for a retro-inspired photo spread in the August issue. Random? Indeed. The 34-year-old Flanagan plays Lois Sadler on the hit AMC show, but only on the occasional episode. The role isn't even considered a supporting character on the show's Wikipedia page.

"Nobody's ever asked me to take off my clothes, or even kiss somebody" on the show, she told the lad mag. "I guess I haven't been seen as a sexy person, and sometimes not even as an attractive person."

The cover image shows Flanagan in nothing but panties and necktie, which is the same pose that Toni Lacey struck on a 1960 cover of the magazine. The star's spread is an homage to classic '60s pinups.

"I really did feel like I was re-creating something and that I was bringing to life these women who already posed for Playboy in the '60s," she told Playboy. "If I tell a friend I did this, they think I'm completely naked. ... This was not Crista filling your wish list out. This was trying to capture an era."

In case Flanagan's face doesn't ring a bell, you may have seen her on 'Mad TV' or in spoof movies like 'Epic Movie' and 'Meet the Spartans.'