Jon Hamm Reveals He Auditioned for This Role on The O.C.

Forget Don Draper: Jon Hamm was almost cast as another well-known TV dad. On Tuesday, he talked about his experience auditioning for The O.C. more than 15 years ago.

By Lindsay Weinberg Jan 12, 2021 11:57 PMTags
Watch: Would Rachel Bilson Do a Revival of "The O.C.?"

Although Jon Hamm is best known for portraying Don Draper on Mad Men, he revealed this week that he auditioned to play another iconic TV dad four years prior to landing his breakout role.

Believe it or not, Hamm almost starred in The O.C. as none other than Sandy Cohen. The part ultimately went to Peter Gallagher, of course, and we can't imagine it any other way. 

Speaking on Rolling Stone's Too Long, Didn't Watch podcast on Jan. 12, Hamm said he auditioned to be on The O.C. when he was around 31 or 32 years old. "I think it was me and Harry Hamlin," Hamm, now 49, recalled of the audition experience.

The Golden Globe winner shared, "I remember walking in and being like, ‘Is that Peter Gallagher? Why am I here?' I love Peter Gallagher, but I was just like, 'Dang!'"

Gallagher went on to play Sandy, the father to Seth, Ryan and Sophie Rose, on the series, which ran from 2003 to 2007.

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The O.C.: Where Are They Now?

During the interview, Hamm said he was often typecast as father figures early on in his career, because he didn't look like he could play a fresh-faced teen. 

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He reflected, "I never looked young enough to be in high school, even when I first got out here and I was 25, so I missed out on all of the Dawson's Creek and all the early, early WB shows."

The actor continued, "So then they were like, 'Come in and play one of the dads,' but I don't look like, I'm not old enough to be that, either. So I had to wait around a long time."

Hamm, who doesn't have kids of his own, also hinted he would've been down to play another famed TV father: Gossip Girl's Rufus Humphrey, who was made famous by Matthew Settle. He speculated, "I would have been a dad in this, which is hilarious because I would have been maybe 12 years older than any of the teens." 

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He predicted that, of the Mad Men cast, Elisabeth Moss would've been perfect to star on Gossip Girl as Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen). Hamm joked, "It would be funny to do a 40-year-old version of Gossip Girl... which could also just be called my life."

Ahead of the HBO Max reboot, Hamm praised the show, saying it was "shot in a very glossy way and a beautiful way and obviously a very successfully tantalizing way... There's definitely some common DNA [with Mad Men] in the drinking to excess and making poor choices."

The Top Gun: Maverick star added, "It's just that we show people in their 30s and 40s doing it, and not people in their teens." 

Now that the revamped Gossip Girl has begun filming in New York City (yes, even on the steps of the Met), The O.C.'s Adam Brody has finally admitted he's curious enough to watch the show.

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The star, who is married to Gossip Girl alum Leighton Meester (aka the headband queen Blair Waldorf), revealed last month, "I highly doubt we'll watch it front to back... I don't think we're the audience, but I'm sure we'll dip our toes in."

Before watching, get acquainted with all the new Gossip Girl characters here.

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