‘Mad Men’: Jared Harris Gives Rare Glimpse at His Character’s Motivation

Season 5 of "Mad Men" seems to have been struggling to find its footing until the last few weeks. But with the episodes "The Other Woman" and "Commissions and Fees," the show finally got back on track.

Jared Harris Gives a Rare Glimpse Into Lane Pryce's Motivation on 'Mad Men.'

Of course, that means there had to be some serious drama at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, including Peggy's long anticipated exit and Lane's untimely demise. In a recent conference call interview, Jared Harris gives a rare glimpse into his character's devastating final meeting with Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and motivation for committing suicide in the office.

Lane Pryce's problems had been mounting both personally and professionally for some time on "Mad Men," but his future at the company seemed doomed from the moment he forged Don's signature on an unapproved bonus check. The sensible Englishman was clearly spiraling out of control.

Jared Harris Believes that Lane Pryce Didn't Take Advantage of Opportunities on 'Mad Men.'

So when Bert Cooper inadvertently blew Pryce's embezzlement to Draper, his termination seemed inevitable. But Harris confessed that he believes his character didn't take advantage of opportunities that presented themselves in the scene in which Don called for Lane's resignation.

Instead Pryce broke down, begged for his job and ultimately conceded defeat. Harris credited the brilliance of the rollercoaster ride of those few minutes of airtime to series creator Matthew Weiner.

He acknowledged, "As an audience member, you can see there's better answers that he could give, and there's better opportunities. There are ways that maybe he could talk his way around this. And he doesn't do it, and you start to wonder why he doesn't. And then the answer comes, 'Is that the man's pride prevented him from doing it?' And even in that situation it prevents him from doing it."

Jared Harris on Why Lane Pryce Ended It all in the SCDP Offices on 'Mad Men.'

Driven by that motivation, Pryce ultimately leaves SCDP and decides to end it all. But his attempt fails due to the unreliability of the Jaguar that his wife has just bought for him.

So Lane returns to the ad agency offices where he has great success at his mission to end it all. Harris explains why his character made that choice. He revealed, "It was vindictive. He was angry, and it was an expression of his anger. It was a passive-aggressive act… He's trying to dig a hole for the people, particularly Don, to make them feel bad about what he's done. It was a cowardly thing to do. He did it to try and hurt them the way that he feels that they've hurt him."

Watch the aftermath of Lane Pryce's suicide unfold on the season finale of "Mad Men" on Sunday, June 10 at 10 p.m. EST/9 p.m. CST on AMC.

More from This Contributor:

Eddie Izzard Has an Unlikely Inspiration for 'Treasure Island'

'Around the World in 80 Plates': The Best of All Reality TV Combined in One Tasty Dish