The developers at Team Bondi were considering more than one Mad Men star for the role of L.A. Noire protagonist Cole Phelps. Daniel McMahon, a writer on the game, shared in an interview with video game journalist Cade Onder (via VGC) that Don Draper actor Jon Hamm was at one point proposed for the crime thriller’s starring role before it ultimately landed with his Mad Men co-star Aaron Staton.
“It was never said at the time, but now I understand the vision, which was Jon Hamm is a wonderful actor, but he’s not Cole Phelps,” McMahon explained. It’s not hard to see why Hamm was considered. Mad Men is dripping with the same kind of 1950s Old Hollywood(ish) glam that runs through L.A. Noire. John Hamm’s Don Draper—a functional alcoholic who hides his deep-seated insecurity behind masculine refinement—is the show’s chaotic driving force.
In some ways, Don Draper is remarkably similar to Cole Phelps; both hide their insecurities in a projected persona, making Hamm a natural consideration for the role. Ultimately, the developers thought Hamm wasn’t the right fit, giving Cole’s character to Staton who, on Mad Men, played Draper’s colleague, Ken Cosgrove.
“Aaron Staton was much better at portraying Cole’s fragility,” McMahon said.
Yeah, if it was Jon Hamm channeling Don Draper in the role, Cole definitely wouldn’t have had much fragility. Or if he did, it’d get drank away at the office via five martinis before noon. But according to McMahon, there were other characters in L.A. Noire that would have been a better choice for Hamm, like Cole’s not-quite-friend-not-quite-enemy Jack Kelso. Unfortunately, Hamm didn’t show up in the game at all, likely because he’d cost too much.
“I think Jon Hamm would have been incredible, but expensive,” McMahon said.
It’s been 15 years since L.A. Noire came out. While fans have hoped for a sequel, and Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick recently said all possibilities were on the table, it doesn’t sound like there are any plans to continue the series anytime soon.