As Don Draper once said, “If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.” And that’s just what happened to Jon Hamm, saying he wasn’t allowed to star in David Fincher’s Gone Girl, with the role eventually going to Ben Affleck.
On a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Jon Hamm confirmed he was closer than nearly anyone else to lead Gone Girl, but said Mad Men got in the way. “I was down to the very end of that. It was meant to be me, but we had to film the continuing adventures of Mr. Draper.” While no specifics were given, it is believed that Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner wouldn’t let him out of his contract, although Hamm would do a number of movies while production on Mad Men was going on, including Million Dollar Arm, which came out the same year as Gone Girl.
Interestingly, Gone Girl is set in Missouri, where Jon Hamm was born. “Poor Ben, a Boston guy, had to wear a Cardinals hat…He was not very happy about it.” But Affleck was far more bent about wearing a Yankees hat when his character tries to go incognito through a crowd, insisting to Fincher that he’d never live it down, being a lifelong Red Sox fan – they ended up agreeing on a Mets cap. Maybe if Fincher ever remasters Gone Girl he could digitally add some pinstripes on Affleck?
Ben Affleck would go on to earn much praise for his performance as Nick Dunne, who becomes a prime suspect as his wife (Rosamund Pike) goes missing. Due to his success with both Argo and Gone Girl, Affleck would earn the first ever Razzie Redeemer Award, bestowed on a past “winner” who turns their career around afterwards. Subsequent recipients would include Sylvester Stallone, Eddie Murphy and Colin Farrell. Hamm, meanwhile, would go on to finally win an Emmy for his turn as Don Draper…if that is his real name!
How do you think Jon Hamm would have done in Gone Girl? Would he have done a better job in the role than Ben Affleck? Give us your take in the comments section below!