An Evening with “Mad Men”

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a SAG Foundation screening of this week’s episode of Mad Men (see review).  It was an incredible evening as almost the entire cast was in attendance.  Anyone who knows me knows my obsession with Jon Hamm and being only two rows away from him, I was almost giddy.

In attendance were Jon Hamm (Don Draper) along with the rest of the cast, Christina Hendricks (Joan), Vincent Kartheiser (Pete), John Slattery (Sterling), January Jones (Betty), and producer Scott Hornbacher.

The panel seemed excited to be there and there’snothing cooler than seeing your favorite characters up close and personal.  One of the first questions was how the casting happened.  Scott told the audience that many of the actors had the actual essence of the character.

A question was asked to the panel about how their lives had changed since the success of the show.  Jon Hamm laughingly said, “We’re all employed.”

Each actor talked about their audition experience.  Vincent said his was easy.  He read for the part and was cast.  January was called in to read for Betty, which in the pilot was an extremely small part.  She met with creator Matthew Weiner, who then told her that if she were cast in the role, he’d guarantee a more substantial part.  As part of the audition process, he created two scenes for her to audition with which were even used in later episodes.  As January said with a wry smile, “He’s a good writer.”

John Slattery actually auditioned for Don’s role, a move he said was meant to get him in the door and convince him to read for Sterling.  It initially pissed him off but he seemed happy with the role now.  Christina auditioned three times, twice for Joan and once for Midge, Don’s mistress in the first season.

But Jon Hamm wins the prize for most auditions.  As an actress, it was especially exciting to hear how this amazing actor really had to work hard to get this once in a lifetime part.   Despite having spent the last eight years working as an actor in LA, he hadn’t met the casting directors who were doing the show and he proceeded to audition SIX times.  He even had to fly to New York City to meet the network and other executives.  He said they all agreed to go for drinks at a rooftop bar after the audition.  He said with a laugh, “I knew they were either going to offer me a part, or push me off the roof.”  Lucky for us, he got the part.

The other questions talked about the political incorrectness of the show.  The actors all seemed less interested (as was I) with this.  It’s a slice of life, taking moments from history.  Historically, things were segregated, women were treated unfairly, and everyone drank and smoked.  “It’s stupid to get mad at fictionalized characters,” Jon Hamm said. “It’s like reading a book and being angry at the characters.”

All the actors praised their fellow cast mates in great moments, which was nice to see them all recognized.  At the end of the night, they had a cocktail reception and many of the actors stayed to chat with their fans.  I was inches from Jon Hamm and planned to take a photo but I chickened out.  It was still great to see how gracious they all were (Christina Hendricks also stayed and snapped photos and accepted well-wishes).  It was a great evening with these talented people and each one of them said just how lucky they are to be part of an incredible show like this.

Panel held on September 17, 2008, at the Pacific Design Center.

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Photographs courtesy of AMC