Matt Weiner Revisits the Casting of Don Draper

Weiner recalled that at the time of the pilot, the Hollywood trend was for anti-leading men protagonists such as Seth Rogen, and that Hamm was struggling to gain traction. When asked who he originally envisioned as Draper, Weiner told Miller he appropriately reached way back:

“When my casting director asked me who I wanted for the role, I was like, ‘Honestly, I’ve narrowed it down to two people – get me William Holden or James Garner…’ They’re like, ‘You can’t say that.'”