Now that the beginning of the end upon is us, Mad Men news and theories about the fate of Don Draper—and just about every other character on the show—will be clogging news feeds for weeks to come. But what of the actors who play them?
The Playlist reports that in the early days of production, Dick Whitman himself, Jon Hamm, was up to play the lead in David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. (The role ended up going to Ben Affleck, in case you’ve been in an underground bunker for the past year or so.) But Matthew Weiner, a notorious control freak, would not allow Hamm out of his contract to make the movie, a move presumably intended to prevent spoilers from reaching Tyler Perry for use in his new film, How To Succeed In Madea Without Really Trying.
Reportedly, Hamm was rather perturbed at the time, and is still upset, which is understandable as the future of his career is still uncertain as Mad Men begins its seventh and final season. (Perhaps he could pull a Don Draper and steal another actor’s identity, like David Caruso or Ted McGinley.) Of course, another report states that the role didn’t work out simply because of conflicting shooting schedules, but Mad Men fans love conflict and drama in their characters, so let’s go with the first report for now. And if the whole acting thing doesn’t pan out post-Mad Men, perhaps Jon can try stand-up…
The final season of Mad Men premieres Sunday, April 5th on AMC.