Jon Hamm played Sterling Cooper’s charismatic adman Don Draper for seven seasons of AMC’s Mad Men. One of the most iconic characters in TV history, Don Draper was the epitome of male beauty. However, AMC Network was initially hesitant to cast Hamm in the role as they found him not sexy enough for the role.
Hamm recalled auditioning for the role multiple times before he could land the role. However, the Mad Men role propelled Hamm into one of the leading stars in Hollywood. He was recently seen in Jennifer Aniston’s critically acclaimed series, The Morning Show.
AMC Initially Believed Jon Hamm Wasn’t Right For Mad Men
Jon Hamm appeared alongside Charlize Theron and Steve Coogan in one episode of The Graham Norton Show. Hamm opened up about his early days in the industry, reflecting on how he got his breakout role as Don Draper in Mad Men.
Answering Graham Norton‘s question about his pre-Mad Men career, Hamm recalled that he did not get any work after landing in Los Angeles in 1994 for almost four years.
During this period, he waited tables and did some bartending gigs. He made a deal with himself that he would get out of the business if his big role didn’t come by the age of 30. Hamm told Norton (via Instagram):
I landed in LA in 1994 or somewhere around then and proceeded not to work for a solid three or four years. I waited tables and bar tended and did that whole circuit. I gave myself to the age of 30 and if it didn’t happen by then I guess the market had spoken and I would slink back to the Mid-West.
To the surprise of Norton and Theron, Hamm revealed that it took seven or eight auditions for him to land the role of Don Draper. He shared that the series was AMC’s first original series and they wanted a famous actor in the leading role.
The network had to be convinced to cast Hamm in the role. He also added he came to know way after his casting that the network initially didn’t find him sexy enough for the role. Hamm shared:
I had to audition seven or eight times for it. It was the network’s first foray into original programming and they obviously wanted someone incredibly famous and I was not that and they had to be convinced. It’s only recently that I found out they didn’t think I was sexy enough.
Charlize Theron was completely taken aback by the revelation. The Mad Max: Fury Road actress expressed her shock, stating, “Were they all blind?”. However, Hamm went on to prove the network completely wrong. Elsewhere in the episode, Norton showed the guests a Barbie doll designed after Hamm’s character in Mad Men.
Jon Hamm Reprised His Don Draper Role In Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted
Jerry Seinfeld’s latest Netflix feature, Unfrosted, surprised everyone when Jon Hamm’s Don Draper and John Slattery’s Roger Sterling appeared in the film. The film about Pop-Tarts includes a scene where Kellogg’s is working with an advertising firm from Madison Avenue, with the two Mad Men characters appearing on screen shortly after.
While some fans were excited to see Jon Hamm back in the role, the cameo turned out to be a bit controversial (via ScreenRant). The story’s timelines matched, however, many believed that the serious tone of Mad Men did not fit into the comic parody style of Unfrosted.
Nevertheless, the cameo opened the possibility of Jon Hamm returning to the role in some capacity. Fans hope Hamm will play the role in future endeavors, though they wouldn’t want pointless cameos like the Unfrosted role.
Mad Men is now available for streaming on AMC+, while Unfrosted is available on Netflix.
