Jon Hamm: Don Draper Originally Offered To Thomas Jane

Four Best Actor Emmy nods later, Matthew Weiner and the producers behind "Mad Men" look like geniuses for casting Jon Hamm in the lead role of Don Draper. What they haven't told you? They got lucky.

Appearing as a guest on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, Hamm took some time off from talking about lady grooming to discuss the genesis of his role on the AMC hit. He suddenly went from arcs on shows such as "CSI: Miami," "Providence" and "What About Brian" (as well as his first role, a bit part on "Ally McBeal" for which he is credited as Gorgeous Guy At The Bar) to national sensation.

"I started, literally, on the very, very bottom -- I couldn't have had less heat on me," he said. "Nobody knew who I was. The casting directors didn't know who I was. I wasn't on anybody's lists. ... The funny thing was, I think they went to Thomas Jane for it, and they were told that Thomas Jane does not do television."

Jane, of course, is now the star of HBO's "Hung," in which he plays a divorced man who has sex with lots of women. So he got a little Draper in his life, after all.

As Hamm tells it, Jane's passing made sense at the time; "Mad Men" was a very unlikely hit.

"Why did it hit the way it hit? If you look at it, in a vacuum, there's no way that that show should have been successful," Hamm said. "It was on a network that no one had heard of for scripted television, they went there to watch reruns of 'Diehard,' or whatever. And it's a very think-y show, which is all not necessarily high up on our current cultural needs."

Hamm, of course, has gone on to major stardom even beyond "Mad Men." He featured in the crime drama "The Town," the Kristen Wiig comedy, "Bridesmaids," will again star as Wiig's love interest in "Friends With Kids," and will feature this season in "The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret."

For more, click over to Maron's podcast.

Comments

[buzzprovider]

02:14 PM on 10/10/2011

Jon Hamm has a big future in acting. He's done the right thing, going on 30 Rock and being funny on SNL. Women are insane over him, yes, but guys think he's a cool dude too (like a Clooney type). He's a great actor too. Solid actor.

[KarimELB]

02:36 PM on 10/07/2011

I think Eddie Cibrian could've pulled off the role but maybe thats because he kinda looks like Jon Hamm lol

[ponderingmuch]

07:56 PM on 10/21/2011

He sure could not have. He tried in the recent bom (now cancelled) series Playboy Club.

Huge difference between Hamm and Cibrian.

Hamm is very smart, has depth and humor as well as being gorgeous.

Cibrian just looks pretty good.

[Jeffin90019]

02:06 PM on 10/06/2011

Thomas Jane doesn't have the smoldering sexuality that Hamm brings to Don Draper. Maybe styling would make the difference. But as it stands, Jane always looks like he needs to be introduced to soap, water, and shampoo.

[mokachyna]

11:35 AM on 10/06/2011

There was a scene when Don Draper came home and pushed Betty to wake her up and then yanked her out of the bed and I thought...wow this is amazing acting (both Hamm and Jones). It seemed like a very real scene between husband and wife and unlike most things that you see on TV. I didn't want to give too much of the scene away so forgive my terrible description.

[Tolms]

10:50 AM on 10/06/2011

Actually Thomas Jane would have been a great choice too. He's a very good actor.

[JustinP213]

09:52 AM on 10/06/2011

Jane surely regrets not joining Mad Men.

[eliteandproud]

04:05 PM on 10/21/2011

He's a great match with Hung, though.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

07:36 AM on 10/06/2011

For people who are like the periodness of this show, the reality with which they depict the times, PANAM does the same thing.  Its also a great show.

[Waiting for Something]

07:58 AM on 10/06/2011

I haven't watched PANAM, but I sure love Mad Men! I have a burning desire to line booze bottles along my credenza in my office and to offer my boss a vodka at 10 a.m. Of course then there would be inconvenient weekly sessions with the EAP, etc., so I refrain. I still can't believe workplace antics like the ones depicted actually happened in my lifetime. It's pretty wild how things have changed.

[Margo Arrowsmith]

08:22 AM on 10/06/2011

I haven't seen Mad Men, but will probably get the DVD's and watch a marathon, which is what I like to do


PANAM is the 60's work place from a woman's point of view, so it is much more about the repression that was going on, repression of women, only of course.   However, since its also about the one avenue that women had for adventure, it is not done with a heavy hand at all.  Its just there, but the women in the story make the best of it.

[JustinP213]

09:52 AM on 10/06/2011

I watched Pan Am. It's a decent show, but it doesn't hold a candle to Mad Men.

[Billy Chrystal]

06:30 AM on 10/06/2011

Great Show!

[oceanofconsciousness]

02:04 AM on 10/06/2011

As Draper, Hamm brings home the bacon.

[Yolboogie]

12:45 AM on 10/06/2011

Can't imagine anyone else who could embody the very powerful, sexy, stoic Don Draper the way Hamm does. Proof that timing is indeed everything.

[littlebrowngirl]

11:20 PM on 10/05/2011

Ove the guy. Cracks me up.

[Stanwyck]

10:39 PM on 10/05/2011

I heard an interview with John Slattery - who plays Roger - on NPR. He was asked to audition for Mad Men and he thought he was auditioning for the lead - Don Draper. He read the script and thought...well, I'm a little old for this guy. He's in his 30s...has a couple of young kids. His agent had to break it to him that he had actually auditioned for a much smaller part: Roger. And, initially, Roger was more of a peripheral character. But Slattery was so good - his part was expanded. Jon Hamm has defined the role - as have the rest of the case in their parts. What an ensemble.

[jennbuh]

03:56 AM on 10/06/2011

I think they had plans to kill Roger, too, initially.

[JustinP213]

09:53 AM on 10/06/2011

I like reading stories like that, Stan. Emerson's character in Lost wasn't supposed to be on the show long but he was so good as Ben that they expanded his role.

[Halsey]

10:31 PM on 10/05/2011

Kismet, karma, luck, timing and paying one's dues...all paths led to Hamm as Draper. He was the draw and perfectly cast. Key here is first and foremore, however, the writing. Draper was never a caricature of a slick ad-man. The writing made him real (as well as the other, all important charactures!). My ex was in advertising and 10 years my senior. Yes, the industry changed a bit but it was still macho central, zero morals, just get the account.
I've lost my exuberance for Mad Men in the last two years. I blame it more on my attention span than the writing but will always equate Hamm as Draper among the top 10 casting calls(TV series) I can recall.
Unrelated but oh so YUM. Talk about eat 'em with a spoon! Fun article. Nice break from bad/sad news of wars and yes Job's death.

[CheekyDee]

09:56 PM on 10/05/2011

It is hard to imagine Mad Men without Jon Hamm, or Elisabeth Moss, for that matter. They make the show.

[noodlesnake]

07:23 PM on 10/05/2011

Jon Hammer has shown on WTF and other programs like it that he is very down to earth and has a terrific sense oh humor. An all around cool guy.

[whatfreshhellisthis]

12:23 AM on 10/06/2011

On talk shows and in interviews, he is extremely likeable, witty, and as you say, very down-to-earth. It shows what a good actor he is, because in real life he is an absolute opposite of the Don Draper character. I wish 'Mad Men' would hurry up and come back. This is too long to wait!

The entire cast is wonderful. And as eye candy for women, it's a tie between Jon Hamm and John Slattery.