The American Movie Classics (AMC) cable network has traditionally made it a goal to present landmark works of bygone eras for today's audiences. Now it is creating an original series harkening back to a long lost time. Mad Men portrays the lives of Madison Avenue advertising executives in the 1960’s.

Before the days of political correctness, these "mad men" owned the world. They made advances at every woman who worked for them, kept mistresses, demeaned minorities and had no limits in selling products like tobacco to America. Roger Sterling (John Slattery) heads up the Sterling Cooper ad agency, where Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is the star executive.

"I went in wanting to play Don Draper but smartly they hired Jon Hamm before I'd gone in and that was explained to me," recalled Slattery. "They said, 'This is the part we want you to play and this is why and trust me, this guy is going to go places that you never expected.' And he's been at least as good as his promise."

So far it may seem like Mad Men is the Don Draper story. Indeed his character has been the main focus, but Sterling's important role at the top informs many things. Slattery also promises that future episodes hold even more surprises for his character.

"It's just really fun to play someone that goes places you don't expect, that you don't already know. Most jobs, you go, 'Okay, this is a guy that's going to do this and he'll probably end up doing that and he'll probably piss somebody off by doing that.' This thing goes places that I never expected."

Audiences may recognize Slattery from another hit TV show. On Desperate Housewives, he plays Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria)'s new husband, Victor Lang. Playing that politician, Slattery is no stranger to playing powerful men. Producers love to cast him as guys in suits, but something about him particularly suits the era of Mad Men.

"I like the period, I like the language. I feel like I'm pretty good with language and the suits and all these sort of accoutrements, you escape into it. It's like a mask or something. You get to hide behind all that stuff, the language, the costumes, the period, the smoking, the drinking. It just helps you become someone other than yourself."

It would be inauthentic to have Mad Men who do not smoke. This was before Surgeon General warnings. Filmed in the politically correct new millennium, portraying a smoker is a complicated task.

"I used to smoke like crazy and I had to quit. But I sure love it and there's no better prop so I just smoke these fake cigarettes. It's great. They're disgusting actually, so you do it when you need to. They don't allow real smoking, cigarettes. It's cut up rose petals or something and they taste like sh*t. So far, my smoking Jones has not returned."

Mad Men has become a family affair for the Slatterys. You see John work for the first time with his real-life wife Talia Balsam, playing his TV wife Mona Sterling. They actually did not share dialogue in the first scene, but there is more to come.

"I was saying something and she was disagreeing with me but we weren't really looking at each other. She was talking to January [Jones] and I was talking to Jon [Hamm] telling some story and she's like, 'Oh please, don't pay any attention to him.' We realized we got out of the scene, that we weren't even talking to each other. But we've done scenes since then that were really emotional. It was actually great to see someone you know walk in a room and you have to be emotional. There are so many feelings you feel about somebody that it actually was easier than it would be if just some stranger walked in."

Production on Mad Men was coordinated so that Slattery can continue his role on Desperate Housewives. This season will show Victor Lang and his new Mrs. in great conflict. "I just got sent the scripts so I haven't even read the first Desperate Housewives script. But judging from the last one, I don't think things are going to be all rosy in my marriage. I predict that it'll get rocky."

Slattery is only contracted for the first half of the season, with his fate left up in the air. Though the storylines are contentious, it is a fun set for the guest actor. "They're very nice people. I know there's news of sturm und drang but it runs like a clock. And Eva couldn't be more fun to work with. She's great."

Unfortunately, that business relationship did not admit Slattery to Longoria's recent private wedding to Tony Parker. "I'm furious," joked Slattery. "I'm still waiting for my invitation to the wedding. She assures me that it's on its way."

While Desperate Housewives is fun, Mad Men is more his own. Slattery is here from the beginning, and plot twists permitting, will continue through the end. "This is really something special. I rarely say that and I say that because I was in on the start of it. So it makes it even more special. Being in on the ground floor of something, you start out, you take a flyer. You never know what's going to happen. Especially in a television series because you get, 'Well, he's the boss. This is the advertising firm and this is what it is.' It could turn out to be garbage. A couple of weeks into this thing or a short time into this, you could see, you could feel it. Everybody looking up and saying, 'Am I crazy or is this really good?' It's a rare feeling. It really is, from my end. Some actors are lucky enough to get the top layer of all the material. It's just a food chain and you're lucky enough a few times to get material like this. I really feel grateful for it. It's been great."

Mad Men airs Thursday nights on AMC. Do not miss this terrific new show!