Jon Hamm, with his celebrated portrayal of Don Draper in the well-acclaimed series Mad Man, has carved out an important place in Hollywood. His cinematic career spans diverse roles across all genres, showing his screen presence. But along with his successful string of movies and shows, the actor was also rumored to have a competitive career streak with Ben Affleck.
But the duo collaborated in the movie The Town, and it was all that Hamm needed to realize that certain roles might not align with his professional and personal goals.
Jon Hamm’s Perspective Changed After Working With Ben Affleck
The duo acted together in The Town, in which Affleck was not just starring but was also directing. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Jon Hamm admitted that he was indeed intrigued by Affleck’s career trajectory. But he was not sure if he wanted to follow the same path as the Batman actor or not. But one thing that this partnership solidified was that he didn’t necessarily want to be a traditional leading man in Hollywood. He further added:
I love Ben, he’s a wonderful actor and filmmaker, but I was like, “I don’t know if that’s for me.” I wanted to do different things instead of just being a leading man, whatever that is. And I don’t know how different my career would have been, but I know it hasn’t been the traditional leading man thing.
Hamm expressed admiration for Ben Affleck as an actor as well as a filmmaker, while also stating his own career aspirations. Further, he wanted to do roles that offered greater ingenuity and depth rather than conforming to a stereotypical leading role. However, after The Town, the duo found themselves gunning for the lead role in Gone Girl (2014).
While Jonn Hamm was the frontrunner for the movie (via CBR), it ultimately went to Ben Affleck due to Mad Men creator Matt Wiener.
The creator didn’t let Hamm sign in for Gone Girl, stating his contractual obligation to the critically acclaimed series. In addition to this movie, there were whispers that Hamm intended to take Affleck’s place as Batman.
Was Jon Hamm in the Running To Play Batman?
The Don Draper making his way to the dark Gotham City indeed sounds intriguing. This is what could have happened if Jon Hamm had replaced Affleck as Batman. Such rumors and whispers were going on in 2017 when RadarOnline.com reported Hamm’s interest in helming Affleck’s Batman movie. Some sources close to Matt Reeve’s production had claimed that Hamm was gunning hard for the role.
There was no official confirmation regarding this rumor, but Hamm had expressed his desire to work in a superhero genre movie a couple of years ago. During an interview with Graham Bensinger (via CBR), the actor talked about his passion for comic books as well as the ongoing rumors that he was going to play Batman.
He affirmed that he has never participated in any discussion over his portrayal of the renowned Caped Crusader. He added:
I have had rumors about that since probably season one of Mad Men. I have never had a conversation with anybody about it, literally. I have never been offered anything. I think the internet wants what it wants.
But in spite of this, he added that he’d be on board with the project if offered a compelling script. However, not Batman but Green Lantern could have been Hamm’s big DCU break (via Men’s Journal). But the actor turned down the offer, and it went to Ryan Reynolds.
You can stream The Town on Apple TV and all the Batman movies on Amazon Prime, Hulu and Max.
