Erin Cummings gets Mad Men's attention between Spartacus and new ABC cop series

Erin Cummings in Spartacus/Starz photo

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Co-starring as a legendary gladiator's wife in Starz's Spartacus: Blood and Sand gave Erin Cummings' career a nice little boost.

But her character, Sura, was murdered in fairly short order, dying in the title character's arms and prompting his blood-drenched revenge rampage in Season 1's final episode.

Cummings, recently added as a regular character -- Dr. Abbey Ward -- on ABC's new fall police series Detroit 1-8-7, had a much briefer, but showier role in the recent Season 4 premiere of AMC's super-acclaimed Mad Men. She was the call girl named Candace, who visited main man Don Draper (Jon Hamm) in his lonely, dimly lit apartment.

"I know what you want," she told him during sex before slapping him in the face.

"Harder," said Don. So she did. Don Draper paying for sex? It was a stunning scene, with Cummings finally landing a money shot on her all-time favorite series. She'd been striving to be at least a small part of Mad Men for three years, Cummings told locatetv.com during an interview at an ABC party.

"I kept telling my agent, 'You have got to get me in,' " she said. For her audition, Cummings "went in there with full hair and makeup and a full 1960s outfit that I had. We played around with it a few times. They put me on hold and then I got the call to come in for the 'table read.' It was something that I've been wanting for a long time, and it lived up to everything I thought it would be. It's a blessing that I hope every actress gets to experience."

It won't be just a one-night stand either. Cummings will return to Mad Men during the Sunday, August 8th episode.

"It was originally written as just a one-day guest shot," she said. "And then they invited me back for a second episode. So we'll get to see Candace the escort one more time -- at least."

Being on Mad Men is a primo credit for any actress or actor.

"It really is," Cummings said. "The perception of my career has already changed in certain ways that I can tell within the industry. If they know that you can work in that environment -- coming into that show at the pinnacle of its success -- then they know you can work anywhere. I think it's really exciting to be able to have Mad Men come out when I'm currently working on Detroit 1-8-7. It only adds fuel to the pilot."

Cumming was just supposed to be a first-episode guest star on the ABC series, too. But the producers instead decided to cast her as a regular character, and she's now living in the hard-pressed Motor City.

"I love it," she said. "Not only is the show going to create a lot of (acting and production) jobs for people. It also will show the diversity of Detroit, and not just focus on the negatives."

Detroit 1-8-7 is scheduled to premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 21st, following a two-hour edition of Dancing with the Stars.