Pettie made his Broadway debut as Reg Nuttall in Butley. Other theatre credits include Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams at Primary Stages, Spatter Pattern at Playwrights Horizons, Hobson’s Choice at the Atlantic Theater, Unwrap Your Candy at the Vineyard Theater, Measure for Measure at NYSF and the recent Atlantic Theater double-bill of Harold Pinter plays.
Screen work includes "Numb3rs," "CSI," "Crossing Jordan," "Line of Fire," "Charmed," "Law & Order: SVU," "Taking Woodstock" and "Gossip Girl." Notably, he plays the role of Lucky Strike heir Lee Garner, Jr. on the hit AMC series "Mad Men."
| Full given name: | Darren Britt Pettie |
| Hometown: | Andalusia, Alabama |
| Zodiac Sign: | Leo |
| What your parents do for a living: | Dad: Tree Surgeon. Mom: Lawyer. |
| Special skills: | Cat juggling |
| Skill/talent you wish you had or were better at: | I wish I was a better husband. Just kidding. I'm not married, but wouldn't that be a funny/sad answer? |
| First Broadway show you ever saw: | Tru |
| If you could go back in time and catch any show, what would it be? | I wish I hadn't missed Fortune's Fool. Would love to have seen Alan Bates on stage. |
| Current show you have been recommending to friends: | Anything I'm in, and Fela! before it closed. |
| Favorite showtune of all time: | "Mack the Knife" |
| Favorite contemporary plays: | Anything by Annie Baker or Melissa James Gibson. |
| Star of the past you would most love to have performed with: | Marcello Mastroianni |
| The one performance – attended - that you will never forget: | Meryl Streep in The Seagull |
| Music that makes you cry, any genre: | Macedonian Gypsy Music... it kills me. |
| MAC or PC? | Pac Man |
| Most played song on your iPod: | "Mama Tried" by Merle Haggard |
| Most-visited website: | Jdate.com |
| Last book you read: | "A Fan's Notes" by Fred Exley. Second time. I love that book. |
| Last good movie you saw: | "Top Gun" |
| Some films you consider classics: | "Persona" (Bergman) "The 400 Blows" (Truffaut) "Enter the Dragon" (Lee) |
| Must-see TV shows: | "Real Housewives of Inner Mongolia." So funny! |
| Performer you would drop everything to go see: | Noam Chomsky |
| Pop culture guilty pleasure: | New York Review of Books |
| Favorite sport/team/player: | I love football. My teams are: Alabama Crimson Tide (home state) and the Juilliard Prancers (alma mater). |
| First CD/Tape/LP you owned: | KISS' "Detroit Rock City" on LP, of course. |
| First stage kiss: | Mama Bear in "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." I was Papa Bear. I was six. |
| Favorite or most memorable onstage role as a child/teenager: | I played a juvenile delinquent in... wait, that wasn't on stage. |
| How you got your Equity card: | Measure for Measure in the Park |
| Favorite pre-/post- show meal: | Caracas in the East Village |
| Most embarrassing or spectacular flubbed line/missed cue/onstage mishap: | I was playing a Sufi Whirling Dervish and had to wear this long skirt with a robe at the end of the play when we all started whirling.
I forgot the robe and just had a tank top with the skirt. I have a tattoo on my right shoulder that was exposed, and a friend watching the show said I looked more like a bouncer at a gay club than a Sufi. |
| Pre-show rituals or warm-ups: | Breath of Fire. Warms up the ol' kundalini. |
| Worst costume ever: | Spandex biker shorts |
| Worst job you ever had: | Oyster shucker |
| Who would play you in the movie? | Meryl Streep. She can do anything. |
| Who have you played on "Law & Order"? What edition? | I played a school teacher for disabled kids on "SVU." I remember Ice-T was really great with the kids. |
| Favorite screen/commercial gig: | Voll-Damm 2010. It was a beer commercial I did in Barcelona for Spanish TV. Maybe the best job of my life. YouTube it. |
| Favorite "Mad Men" moment for your character: | Following Christina Hendricks in a conga line. |
| Leading man role you've been dying to play: | Mark Antony |
| Leading lady role you wish you could play: | Cleopatra |
| Career you would want if not a performer: | Tug boat captain |
| Something about you that surprises people: | That I can read. |
| Words of wisdom for aspiring performers? | Don't take yourself too seriously! |
