Bryan Cranston’s Walter White and James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano are the most common names that cross one’s mind when it comes to the most iconic characters to grace the realm of TV. However, most can agree that while these two are some of the well-written characters the medium has to offer, they aren’t exactly the most upstanding persons that one should idolize.
But these characters are often misunderstood by a not-so-small portion of the fandom and similar was also the case with one of Jon Hamm’s most iconic roles.
Jon Hamm on Fans Celebrating Don Draper for the Wrong Reasons
While Jon Hamm has maintained a pretty exquisite filmography, which includes the likes of Baby Driver and Top Gun: Maverick, one of his most iconic performances remains his stint as Don Draper. But although most would agree that the writing for the character and Mad Men, in general, was impeccable, Draper isn’t exactly the paragon of masculinity that some mistook him to be.
Weighing his opinion (via THR), Hamm highlighted, similar to Bryan Cranston‘s Walter White and James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano, some celebrated the character for the wrong reasons.
Jimmy Gandolfini, whom I knew a little bit, had a similar relationship to Tony Soprano, and Bryan Cranston had it with Walter White. The character got celebrated for the wrong reasons. People thought that Don was this paragon of masculinity or whatever. There were so many think-pieces, and you go, ‘Wait, he was pretty fucked up’.
But these aren’t the lone examples of viewers misinterpreting morally grey or troubled characters, as similar has been the case with Christian Bale’s Patrick Bateman and Joker.
Staying Away From Walter White Changed Vince Gilligan’s Perception of Him
It’s not hard to see why fans may root for Walter White, especially during their initial watch, as the character is designed to be a master manipulator. Series creator Vince Gilligan was also on the same boat, but he explained with time and distance away from the character, his perception of White changed, “The further away I get from ‘Breaking Bad,’ the less sympathy I have for Walter”.
Gilligan stressed if Walt was a good person, he wouldn’t have allowed his pride to get the better of him, and even in his last moments, the character “leaves a trail of destruction behind him”
[Walt] got thrown a lifeline early on. And, if he had been a better human being, he would’ve swallowed his pride and taken the opportunity to treat his cancer with the money his former friends offered him.
In the end, while all of them are examples of some of the best writing the realm of television have to offer, celebrating them for the wrong reasons kills off the point of their character.
Mad Men is available to stream on Apple TV.
Breaking Bad is available to stream on Netflix.
