Jon Hamm Was A Major Distraction On The Mad Men Set
John Slattery says Jon Hamm's handsomeness caused other Mad Men actors to lose their concentration on-set.
While promoting Confess, Fletch, John Slattery gave an interview to the Independent in which he explained how Jon Hamm distracted his co-stars while filming Mad Men. The man behind Roger Sterling shared that he originally auditioned for the role of Don Draper, which went to Hamm, and how at the time the producers warned Slattery “well….we have this guy.” Despite being upset over the loss of the lead role, the actor settled into Roger Sterling and realized, when filming the first episode, just what the producers meant with their statement.
Jon Hamm was Don Draper, and the Mad Men star took to the the role so completely that Slattery just nodded his head and realized “they sure do have that guy.” When on set and in character, Hamm was such a commanding presence that guest-stars would just go catatonic when talking to him. Slattery, also an actor known for his roles as raconteurs and high-powered authority figures, was amazed at how frequently trained, experienced performers forgot their lines when appearing in scenes opposite Hamm’s Don Draper.
When asked if Hamm also brought about that reaction from him, Slattery brushed it off with an explanation on how curated the performers were and what a fantastic job was done to make him look far better than he does in his day-to-day life. The iconic Sex and the City guest star did mention that Jon Hamm was not the only person on the Mad Men set to be a constant distraction for their co-stars. Christina Hendricks, when in costume as her character Joan Holloway, would cause other highly trained actors and actresses to completely lose themselves.
The acclaimed actress, known for turning heads off and on screen, had the same ability of Jon Hamm to throw the Mad Men set into chaos just by walking onstage. Hendricks’ turn as office manager Joan earned the actress six Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. No acting slouch himself, Slattery received 11 award nominations for his time on Mad Men, winning two as part of the drama’s ensemble cast.
Today, Jon Hamm has put Mad Men behind him and starred most recently in Confess, Fletch alongside John Slattery, though his most prominent role recently was in Top Gun: Maverick as Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson. The two real-life best friends enjoyed their brief on-screen reunion, with Hamm also appearing in Slattery’s upcoming film, Maggie Moore(s). With Hamm busy filiming the third season of the Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston starring The Morning Show, the real-life Roger Sterling is stepping in to help his friend promote Confess, Fletch.
Jon Hamm and his incredible presence on the set of Mad Men has not been the only distracting part of Slattery’s long-acting career. His 2000 appearance on Sex and the City, in which his character tried to convince Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw to partake in a golden shower, was his most famous role prior to Mad Men. The fallout from that appearance, and the resulting relevancy in recent years due to allegations about a certain American President, is the only thing the New York-based actor has found more distracting and disrupting to his career than Hamm’s strikingly handsome Donald Draper.
