Casting Close-Calls

Thomas Jane as Don Draper
("Mad Men")

The role of Don Draper on the critically acclaimed "Mad Men" has made Jon Hamm quite the leading man. But that wasn't always the case. In fact, he wasn't even AMC's first choice to play the 1960s-era ad man (and ladies man). As a guest on Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast back in October, Hamm recalled, "I started, literally, on the very, very bottom -- I couldn't have had less heat on me. Nobody knew who I was. The ... more 

Thomas Jane as Don Draper
("Mad Men")

The role of Don Draper on the critically acclaimed "Mad Men" has made Jon Hamm quite the leading man. But that wasn't always the case. In fact, he wasn't even AMC's first choice to play the 1960s-era ad man (and ladies man). As a guest on Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast back in October, Hamm recalled, "I started, literally, on the very, very bottom -- I couldn't have had less heat on me. Nobody knew who I was. The casting directors didn't know who I was. I wasn't on anybody's lists." And who was at the top of the network's list to play Draper? Hamm reveals, "They went to Thomas Jane for it, and they were told that Thomas Jane does not do television." Jane eventually did do television as the lead in "Hung," which was canceled by HBO in December. less