Mad Men’s Jon Hamm reveals he auditioned for role on The O.C. made famous by Peter Gallagher

Before he found fame as Don Draper in Mad Men, Jon Hamm struggled to succeed in auditions for some of TV’s hottest shows.

In the early 200’s, Draper auditioned for a part in the Fox series The O.C. 

However, he lost out to actor Peter Gallagher who went on to play Sandy Cohen, the father of Adam Brody’s character Seth Cohen, in the hit show that ran from 2003 to 2007.

‘I was probably 31 or 32,’ Hamm recalled on Rolling Stone’s new podcast series Too Long; Didn’t Watch. ‘I think it was me and Harry Hamlin [auditioning].’ 

Hamm went on: ‘I remember walking in and going, ‘Is that Peter Gallagher? Why am I here?’ I love Peter Gallagher, but I was just like, ‘Dang!”

The Mad Men star went on to share that he always felt he was at an ‘in-between’ age when it came to casting. 

‘I never looked young enough to be in high school, even when I first got out [to L.A.] and I was 25, so I missed out on all of the Dawson’s Creek and all the early WB shows,’ he said.

‘So then they were like, ‘Come play one of the dads,’ but I wasn’t old enough to be that, either. I had to wait around a long time.’

In 2007, Hamm landed the lead role in the AMC series Mad Men and starred on the show for seven seasons until it came to an end in 2017.

He’s gone on to star in several high profile movies including Keeping Up With The Joneses, Baby Driver, Beirut, The Report and the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick.

Next up, he’ll take on the role of Fletch in a reboot of the character made famous by Chevy Chase.

If the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic allows, filming is set to begin in New York in the spring.

‘We’ve got an excellent script, and an excellent director attached, and we’re going to start casting soon,’ Hamm told Collider last month.   

‘It’s big shoes to fill, obviously. But…. it’s a reboot, it’s not a remake, so we’re going back to the novels and really breaking it down but hopefully bringing what people want to see.’