Margo Martindale was blindsided by the news of her character Mags Bennett’s death on “Justified.” In an interview with the Television Academy, Martindale revealed she didn’t even know the series was killing off Mags until she read the very end of the acclaimed crime drama’s Season 2 script.
Introduced in Season 2 as one of the main criminals opposing Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant), Mags hides her family’s marijuana business behind a general store and escalates her cutthroat methods to the point of poisoning her rival Walt McCready (Chris Mulkey). She dies in the “Justified” Season 2 finale, taking her own life with a lethal dose of apple pie moonshine after being shot by Walt’s daughter Loretta (Kaitlyn Dever).
Martindale described her reaction after she found out her character would perish in the final episode. “Tim said to me, ‘How are you today?’ I said, ‘Well, I’m dead.’ [laughs],” she shared. “And Graham [Yost] had not told me. I texted him and I talked to him. I said: ‘Now, when was it you told me that I was dead?’ He said, ‘The day you got the script, and I’ll never forgive myself.’ But you know what? It couldn’t have been more perfect. I would have hated to see her limp into Season 3.”
Justified had an important impact on Margo Martindale’s career
Commonly appreciated as an all-time great character actor, Martindale appeared in only 10 episodes of “Justified,” but her performance was impressive enough to win an Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series in 2011. Many “Justified” fans remember Martindale’s Mags for her menacing presence in the story, and some wish that the show didn’t kill her off so soon. The impact of “Justified” on Martindale’s career goes beyond simply giving her a memorable supporting character to play.
Working with creator Graham Yost actually helped Martindale land her Emmy-winning role as Claudia on “The Americans” — where Yost served as an executive producer. While shooting the film “August: Osage County,” Martindale got the call from Yost. “He said, ‘Hey, you want to do this show about Russian spies?'” she recounted. “I said, ‘I don’t know, is it good?’ He said, ‘Yeah, it’s good.’ I said, ‘Do I have to speak Russian?’ He said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I want to do it.’ [laughs]. That’s how it went. I can’t say it enough how grateful I am, though, for ‘Justified’ and Mags coming into my life.”
