January Jones loves being ‘X-Men’s’ sexy mutant

• Reprints

January Jones loves the fact that Emma Frost, her character in “X-Men: First Class,” has a sexy side and isn’t afraid to flaunt it.

Updated: July 8, 2011 2:27PM

January Jones is not used to the name-calling. These days, if you call the pregnant star the m-word, she will relish it.

Not mama.

The other m-word.

“I loved being called a mutant,” says the 33-year-old star of “X-Men: First Class” (opening Friday). She puts aside her Grace Kelly mannerisms and cool blondness to play an even cooler character named Emma Frost in the origin story that reinvents the popular franchise.

The film revolves around a young Charles Xavier, who in 1963 founds a school for humans with superhuman abilities.

Jones, known for playing icy Betty on “Mad Men,” says she brought her sexy side to the role. This wasn’t tough for an actress known for her gasp-worthy couture on the red carpet.

“I love to dress up,” says Jones, who still keeps her heavily ventilated red Golden Globes dress in her closet.

“I love that sexuality is a huge part of Emma’s character. Unlike some of the younger characters that are honing their mutant powers in this film as the younger versions of their characters, Emma has had time to perfect it.

“I used that to my advantage. Emma’s vanity is a huge part of her makeup. She loves how she looks,” she says, adding, “I did research into the Wonderbra and it went well.”

These days she’s filling out in other ways. Jones shocked fans by announcing her pregnancy earlier this year without providing many details. She now has a pronounced bump — and she couldn’t be more excited about the baby who’s due this fall.

“I feel great,” she says. “I haven’t had any weird physical side effects. I feel lucky so far.

“Everyone asks about cravings. I haven’t yet. It’s a bummer I don’t have a story.”

She does have plenty of tales about joining the “X” universe.

“I enjoyed being a mutant. I had fun with all the costumes and the sets. It really was like entering this alternative universe,” she says.

She had some studying to do.

“The bad thing is I’m not a big comic book reader,” she says. “The most I ever did was Betty and Veronica. As a kid, I wasn’t one of those little girls who grabbed comics and stayed up late reading them.

“I knew that I’d have to really look into this character if I took it on, but that was fine with me because I love digging in,” she says.

Her research was paging through the comics. “There was so much detail. For me, I wanted to find out what made her tick emotionally. I wondered why these characters were so p---ed off. What did the world do to them?”

She wears a number of revealing looks, including her Emma Frost costume.

“I did have to work out a bit, because it’s basically short skirts and go-go boots,” she says. “It’s not an easy look. But I did love the furry hat and the fact that I get to wear a cape.

“I guess it’s a sexy look, although it got tiresome after a long day in go-go boots. Those boots hurt, but at the end of the day, I was happy that I really represented this comic book world.”

Jones is a native of Sioux Falls, S.D., where she grew up with her father, a teacher. Named after January Wayne (a character in Jacqueline Susann’s racy Once is Not Enough), she was your basic good girl who worked odd jobs to make a living.

“No kidding, but I was the Dairy Queen girl,” she says.

After high school graduation, Jones high-tailed it to New York City, where she became a model.

At 5-foot-6, she didn’t become a supermodel, but still was hired for Abercrombie & Fitch ads thanks to her all-American blonde look. She did a handful of TV commercials and made her big-screen debut in 1999’s “All the Rage,” an indie film that never made it to theaters.

Jones was first seen by fans in the 2001 film “The Glass House,” which she followed with roles in “Bandits” (2001), “Anger Management” (2003) and “American Wedding” (2003).

She hit pay dirt when she nabbed the role of Betty Draper in “Mad Men” in 2007.

It’s a role that she relishes, and it earned her an Emmy nomination. The show will return in March.

“I love that [Betty is] not always so nice. She is never boring,” Jones says. “I love someone who has a little bit of angst and anger in her.

“She is not the kind of mother I want to be,” she insists. “I guess Betty can be quite horrible, but I think if you sat her down, she would start telling you all her issues and problems. Underneath the horrible is a woman who wants to scream.”

In last winter’s hit “Unknown,” she played another chilly wife, this one wed to Liam Neeson.

“I’m not worried about typecasting, because I’ve been offered a lot of different roles — mean, nice, and everything that falls in the middle,” she says. “I’m an actress, so if you’re asking me about worrying about typecasting, then it means I’ve made a mark in a certain role.

She’s not about to quit her day job for the big screen.

“I love that my first TV show has made such a mark,” she says. “Honestly, our show ‘Mad Men’ feels like a little movie to me each week. I love being on the series.

“Ultimately, I’ll go wherever the best work is for me.”

Big Picture News Inc.