As it turns out, Vincent Kartheiser might be as punchable as his "Mad Men" character Pete Campbell in real life. Kartheiser revealed in an interview with Vulture that he's been on the receiving end of quite a few beat-downs in his day.
"Yeah, I’ve been punched in the face before. You know, that’s life ... I got beat up in Vancouver once by two dudes, and they were, like, kicking me. I was laying on the ground getting my ass whooped and I never really had much happen. I guess a little soreness the next day."
But oddly enough, when it comes to brawling, he doesn't tend to fight back.
"I’ve gotten into yelling brawls with dudes before and come close to maybe drunkenly hitting a dude, but I'm, like, What if something was to happen where I knocked his tooth out and he sues me? Or the police see it and I have to go to county for three nights? I'd much rather just get my ass kicked."
Pete Campbell was "Mad Men's" punching bag in Season 5. He faced off with Lane Pryce in office fisticuffs and took a few shots to the face on a train when his commuting buddy realized he was having an affair with his wife, played by Karthesier's now real-life girlfriend, Alexis Bledel. Kartheiser is well aware that "Mad Men" fans found it cathartic.
"It's something the audience has been yearning for for five seasons. Pete has kind of weaseled himself out of most situations that probably should have given him a black eye," Kartheiser told Gold Derby.
Kartheiser observed in an interview with HuffPost TV in June that he can at times share a certain un-likability factor with Pete. "I play a really despicable, ugly character. I think there's plenty of me in Pete Campbell."
It's becoming kind of a thing for Kartheiser. A YouTube remix of Campbell getting punched by Lane set to the Immogen Heap song "Hide And Seek" went viral. He also just wrapped shooting an indie film called "Beach Pillows" that -- what else -- features a scene where his character ends up with a black eye.
