Yes, Jon Hamm had to audition seven to eight times before landing the role. As he himself said, “I wasn’t going to have a bad audition.” When Mad Men creator Matt Weiner was assembling the cast for AMC’s first original series, he made a bold call: cast mostly unknown actors.
Why? He wanted audiences to see characters with fresh eyes—no baggage from previous roles. That decision turned into a high-stakes gamble for the network. AMC had to find actors who could carry the weight of these characters without any preconceived notions.
But finding Don Draper was make-or-break. According to Mad Men pilot director Alan Taylor, “It was all going to stand or fall based on Don.” In other words, if they didn’t get Don right, the whole show could collapse.
Hamm’s audition journey was anything but smooth. He recalls an 8 a.m. read in the middle of a rainstorm. Brutal. Plus, there was the whirlwind trip to New York, where Hamm had to meet with skeptical AMC executives. “It was one of those things where, you’re only as good as your last audition, and it just takes one bad one to kind of mess it all up,” he said. The pressure was on, but Hamm just hoped he’d nail every single moment.
The casting directors, along with Weiner, saw potential in Hamm early on. Kim Miscia, AMC’s casting director, said, “We felt like we hit the jackpot when we met Jon.” But the executives at AMC weren’t immediately sold. Christina Wayne, the network’s senior VP of original programming, watched Jon’s audition tape instead of witnessing him in person. She remembered the moment vividly: “Matt originally sent us tapes on Jon Hamm and Mariska Hargitay’s husband [Peter Hermann]. Those were his two choices and he said he was leaning more towards Jon. We were like, ‘Really? This is the guy you want?’ It was not a particularly great audition.”
Alan Taylor also had his doubts about Hamm. Coming off The Sopranos, he had a certain expectation of leading men. He initially resisted Jon’s looks. He wanted someone who felt less like a traditional leading man and more like a gritty antihero. But his perspective shifted as Taylor saw Hamm’s vulnerability. He eventually understood that Mad Men was about dismantling masculine perfection. It made sense to start with someone who appeared to embody that “perfect American male” but could reveal cracks beneath the surface.
Ultimately, Hamm secured the role after a crucial meeting with Wayne, Taylor, and AMC executives in New York. Matt Weiner trusted his gut. “Matt was telling us he just knew it in his gut and he could see it,” Wayne said. Taking Jon out for a drink solidified it. In person, it became undeniable. Hamm embodied Don Draper in a way that felt almost instinctual. It was Weiner’s unwavering vision that paid off, turning doubts into a hit show that became a cultural sensation.
This throwback to Jon Hamm’s journey to Mad Men reminds us that talent often requires grit, perseverance, and a bit of serendipity. Hamm wasn’t just playing a role; he was dismantling the idea of the flawless man, showing that sometimes, vulnerability can be the key to iconic storytelling.
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