You'll never know who you'll run into on your way up the ladder of success.
During a Sept. 19 interview on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show, Mad Men's Jon Hamm shared that on his journey to landing the role of Don Draper in the drama series, there was another recognizable face who also went out for the part: West Wing's Joshua Malina.
"The only name that I remember from any of those audition sign-in sheets was Josh Malina" he recalled, "who I'm not sure had a great shot at being Don Draper. But it would've been a choice."
Now, before you think that is shade, Jon assured Howard Stern listeners that he is a fan of Joshua's, adding, "He's a great, wonderful actor."
Of course, Jon recalled that he was very eager to nab the Don Draper part, noting, "I remember reading the script, putting it down, and thinking, ‘Holy s--t, that's a really good story."
Auditioning a whopping seven times before officially landing the role, Jon remembered one stressful moments before his life would change forever.
"It took me about two hours to get to this audition where I'm sitting next to like a 15-year-old kid, waiting," he told Howard. "The kid goes, ‘Are you here for the toothpaste commercial?' And I go, ‘What? No.' Then I thought, ‘Maybe I can get a job on that toothpaste commercial."
Since those days, he went on to star in not only Mad Men, but also Top Gun: Maverick, Keeping Up With The Jonesess, The Town, and Million Dollar Arm.
And we can see more of Jon when he stars in season three of Apple TV+'s The Morning Show, which returns in 2023.