When Jon Hamm Nearly Lost This Major Role After Being Told He Wasn’t “Sexy Enough”

Jon Hamm nearly missed out on playing one of TV’s most iconic men — all because a network thought he wasn’t sexy enough. Yup, you read that right. The network wasn’t exactly swooning over him before Hamm swaggered into living rooms everywhere as Don Draper on AMC’s Mad Men. In fact, they needed a lot of convincing.

When Hamm first auditioned, AMC had its sights set on a big Hollywood name. After all, Mad Men was their first original series. They wanted a star with instant sizzle. Hamm? Well, he wasn’t that guy yet. He wasn’t famous, and apparently, he wasn’t hot enough either.

Jon Hamm shared a slice of humble pie during his visit to The Graham Norton Show (via FandomWire), saying, “It’s only recently that I found out they didn’t think I was sexy enough.” Charlize Theron, sitting next to him, just couldn’t believe it. “Were they all blind?” she joked, perfectly capturing what everyone else must have been thinking.

Hamm wasn’t exactly an overnight success story either. Talking to Norton, he opened up about his early grind. After landing in Los Angeles around 1994, he struggled for years without a single real acting gig. “I landed in LA in 1994 or somewhere around then and proceeded not to work for a solid three or four years,” the actor said.

Instead, he waited tables, bartended, and hustled through the usual tough-as-nails actor circuit. He even made himself a deal: if he didn’t make it by the age of 30, he’d pack it up and head back to the Midwest. No drama, no big farewell. Just a quiet exit.

It turns out persistence paid off—but not easily. Jon Hamm had to audition seven or eight times before finally locking down the role of Don Draper. Seven or eight auditions! AMC really made him sweat. But thank God they eventually came to their senses because Hamm as Draper became television gold.

Fast forward, and Hamm’s career skyrocketed. He’s been everywhere since then — movies, TV shows, you name it. Most recently, he popped up in Jennifer Aniston’s critically acclaimed series The Morning Show, proving he’s still got that Draper magic.

And speaking of Draper, Hamm slipped back into the sharp suits and cigarette haze again — but not where you’d expect. In Jerry Seinfeld’s Netflix comedy Unfrosted, a surprise cameo brought back Hamm’s Don Draper along with John Slattery’s Roger Sterling. The scene fit the timeline, with the two Mad Men working at an ad firm for Kellogg’s.

Not everyone was sold, though. Some fans felt the serious, brooding Draper didn’t quite mesh with Unfrosted’s tongue-in-cheek tone. It sparked a bit of chatter, with many hoping that if Jon Hamm does reprise Draper again, it’ll be somewhere a little less goofy. Still, seeing Hamm and Slattery together again was a treat, even if just for a few minutes.

From almost being overlooked to becoming the face of an entire era, Jon Hamm’s story is a classic underdog win. Turns out, the guy who wasn’t “sexy enough” made it look way too easy in the end.

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