“Mad Men” star James Wolk keeps forgetting he’s famous

“Always Woodstock” star James Wolk has become a familiar face to viewers all over, thanks to work on the small screen on “Mad Men,” “Shameless,” Happy Endings,” “the Crazy Ones” and a slew of other shows. But he still sometimes forgets about that when he runs into those viewers in public.

Have you ever had your own quarter-life crisis like the one Catherine (Allison Miller) has in “Always Woodstock”? Where you start to question everything you’ve been doing with your life?
You know, Catherine obviously goes through a huge quarter-life crisis. For me, I think getting into my late 20s really shifted where I place importance in my life. There are definitely a few times I could point to, a pivotal time where there was a change in my focus. I don’t know if that’s a quarter-life crisis so much as a quarter-life, like, taking stock of … yeah.

Like a readjustment?
Yeah, a quarter-life readjustment, perfect. (laughs) It doesn’t sound as dramatic. Hey, maybe mine’s still coming, who knows. You never know. Thank God I’ve been busy, and it’s been an incredible journey. No career doubts, nope. (laughs)

Do you get a sense when people see you on the street which TV show they’re recognizing you from?
I don’t even know. It’s a real crap shoot at this point. It’s awesome that I can’t point to one thing and people kind of come up with different shows. This was the best one, somebody the other day was like, “You know who you look exactly like?” And I think it’s maybe because I don’t carry myself in a [famous] way. I don’t come in with my sunglasses and my head down. I don’t come in as though I am anyone because, number one, I don’t think that I am, and I also kind of forget that I’ve been on these shows. So I walk in and I’m waiting to order my coffee or something, and someone will look at me and I’ll be like, do I have something on my face? What’s going on? I literally forget that I’m an actor. So I think that translates, and then they go, “You know who you look like?” Sometimes I’ll be like, “It’s funny you say that, I get that a lot,” or sometimes I’ll just be like, “Yeah, it’s me.”

Wait, how often do you pretend you’re not you?
Very rarely, very rarely. Because I almost think it’s rude.

I know you’re not really allowed to talk about what’s going to happen on “Mad Men,” but let’s talk about what already has happened. Have you lost your “fan favorite” status since how the last few episodes shook out for Bob Benson?
Yeah, the fans were like, “How could you?” People became indignant about it, it was amazing. It was really unbelievable. He definitely was beloved, and we’ll see what happens. I can’t say anything about what’s going to happen, yeah, but it’s amazing to see people respond to him like that — or, you know, not respond to him.

Was “Always Woodstock” actually filmed in Woodstock?
It was not. The whole thing was filmed in Los Angeles. I think maybe they did some exterior shots in Woodstock, but the majority of it was filmed on a ranch out here. It’s totally crazy. Movie magic. Now I’ll tell you this, it was 30 to 35 degrees some of those nights, and it was supposed to be, “Oh, it’s so pleasant! We’re in Woodstock in nice weather!” And it was freezing because we were in a very cold area of California.

How do you act through cold?
You don’t, you just shiver and you hope that the camera doesn’t catch it. Unbelievable.